Beautiful Happiness, Book 1: Life's Gift
by Missmybcmiyuki
Summary: A tragic event leaves a girl alone in the world. As she journeys around she stumbles into a village and finds a sweet ninja named Hinata. Can Hinata help the little girl, and will a certain blond offer his assistance? NarutoxHinata
1. Our Journey

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from naruto, everyone else i do own

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. Though alot on how to write this and re wrote alot of it. Hopefully it comes out good.

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

Our Journey

_The world is an amazing place that should never be taken for granted. You are young, so you might not understand any of this now, but one day it will all be clear. Your destiny will one day lead you to discover the most precious things the world has to offer. So no matter what you must never give up and you must never let those precious things be taken away from you. To me, you are the most precious thing I have, that is why I gave my life to protect you. I know the pain of losing me will cause you pain, but you must not let that pain hold you back. Things happen for a reason, so it is best not to dwell in the past. Let these experiences strengthen you, not hold you back. Though I may be gone, I will always be with you, in your heart and in your memories. Never forget what I have taught you, it will come in handy someday. When you find those precious to you protect them with your life, as I did you… _

* * *

"Ughn, mother…" the young girl groans as she slowly opens her eyes, lifting her hand up towards the blinding sun. Slowly rising as she heads toward the stream beside her. Splashing her face with the cold water and recalling the final words from her parting mother once more. Tears slowly run down her cheeks as she packs up her bag and starts to walk toward the nearby road, a small whimper suddenly is heard coming from within her bag.

"Huh?' the girl whispers as she brings her bag closer to her face just as a small tongue licks her nose, causing her to slightly giggle. "Sorry Miyuki, I guess I sort of forgot you were in there," the little girl says apologetically as she places the bag down and the little critter climbs out. Miyuki shakes herself awake before giving a small yelp, accepting the apology with a wag of her tail. The little girl smiles and puts her bag back on, looking down warmly at the small border collie below her.

Miyuki was a small pup, with soft black hair covering her whole body, with the exception of her four paws and chest, which was white. The pup was a special gift given to her a while before the incident. She had only had her for three months but they already had a strong connection with one another.

The walked for nearly four hours before taking a break near a park in order to search for something to eat. With little money left the girl decided to spend most of it on food for Miyuki while she bought herself an apple. The little pup was the only thing she had, and as her mother had often told her, you must always take care of those precious to you. Besides, she didn't really need as much food as a young pup needed.

As the days passed she started looking for odd jobs to do around town, after all, she no longer had the luxuries she had when she was home. Lucky for her most of the villages she had come across allowed her to run errands for them. Since the beginning, she had worried that someone would try to look for her parents. However, usually everyone just assumed she was a local little girl wanting some money for candy or toys. She was young but very smart, she knew better than to go to the same person repeatedly for work. If she did, it would only cause problems since they were bound to start asking her questions about her parents and where she lived. Which is another reason she made sure never to stay in a village for too long. It had been like this for about a month, and though she was still quite young and new to the world around her she managed to do quite well.

However, making money was not the only thing the little girl did as she wandered around the village. As her mother had told her, she had to find _'those who would be precious to her'_. Though that was easier said than done, how was she supposed to know who those people were? She often found herself getting upset and remembering what her mother had told her again and again.

* * *

_"Sweetie, finding the people precious to you is not so hard if you know where to look. _

_"But mom it's not fair, how do I know where to look if I don't even know who they are!" the little girl pouted._

_"The answer is inside you my dear. I cannot tell you where they are for they are your precious people, not mine. Finding them is part of your journey in life, but don't worry, you will find them. Sometimes it's best not to look for them, that is when they are found."

* * *

_

"I wonder if I'll really find anyone," the girl sighed as she looked up at the stars. It had been an hour since she had gotten ready for bed, "after all, most of the people precious to me were all killed when…." she whispered tearfully as she slowly shut her eyes and brought Miyuki closer to herself, thoughts drifting to the past. When everything went wrong, and her whole world was destroyed before her small dark brown eyes. It was something she wished she could forget. Thankfully, most of the painful details were locked away.

* * *

_"Where's the child!" _

_"We don't know who you're talking about!"_

_"Don't play with me you fool! We won't hesitate to destroy this whole village!"_

_"Yeah, so you better tell us where the child is!"_

_*gulp*_

_"You have one last chance. TELL US WHERE THE BRAT IS!"_

_"M-mother, what's happening!"_

_"Shush, we must get out of here"_

_"But father's-"_

_"He's doing this to protect you sweetie, we must leave now or his sacrifice will be in vain"_

_"Sacrifice! W-wha-"_

_"AAAAUUUUUGGHHH!"_

_"FATHER!"_

_"Someone's here!"_

_"It must be the child, spread out and find the brat!"_

__

"AAAHHHH!"

* * *

"I-I have to get this" gasped the young girl as she tried to stand and continue her early morning training. She began running through some fighting sets, making sure not to mess up. One by one, she ran through them until she felt a slight numbness in her legs and collapsed. "I g-guess I'll take a short break" she whispered as she tried to sit up as she heard a noise to her left. Quickly she reached for a weapon.

"Alright Miyuki, I think this is the right way. We should be near a village soon!" exclaimed the little girl as she made her way out from the bushes. Quickly she noticed a figure to the left of her and turned to see what it was. There in front of her was a young girl who appeared to be in her teens, with short dark hair. The little girl was about to ask her if she was okay until she saw the kunai in her hand.

"Oh, hello" the young girl said, "are you lost?" She slowly stood up and began to walk towards the little girl, offering her hand, "Need some help getting back to your parents?"

The little girl quickly turned away, "I don't need help from a filthy ninja," she spat as she signaled her dog to follow.

Stunned by the little girl's words she tried to come to her senses and follow the girl. Something just did not seem right about her. She tried to pick up her pace before the little girl was lost from her sight; somehow, she knew she had to help her. The little girl tried to run as fast as she could, ducking many branches and jumping over any obstacle to come her way. She wasn't about to let a ninja get her. Suddenly she found herself tripping on a broken branch and landing face first on a nearby rock.

"I wonder where she went" huffed the young girl as she stopped to catch her breath once more. All of a sudden, she heard a loud barking and knew it was the small pup that was with the little girl. She ran as fast as she could and was in shock by the scene she found. The little girl's face was covered in blood and she was unconscious. Carefully the young girl picked the little girl up and ran to the hospital, the pup quickly following behind her.

"Please be alright, we'll get to the hospital soon," the young girl sobbed, she didn't even want to think of what would happen if she didn't get there in time.

In the hospital, it was very quiet and it was very empty since it was already nighttime. The young girl had gotten there a few hours before and was waiting nervously for a doctor to come and tell her news of the little girl. Suddenly a door was opened as the doctor walked out from the emergency room, looking up from his clipboard. "Hinata?" the doctor said as the young girl stood up and nervously approached him. "I-is she alright doctor" the young girl slowly choked out as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Yes, she only needed a few stitches, she should be alright by tomorrow, she's over here if you want to see her" the doctor said as he lead her to the little girl's room. Hinata walked in and sat next to the little girl, concern very evident in her face. She slowly brought her hand up and began stroking the little girl's head, many questions looming in her mind. Like who the little girl was, where she came from and if her parents were looking for her. Her thoughts were however interrupted as a small yelp was heard from under the hospital bed. Apparently, Miyuki had found a way inside the room and was now struggling to jump up the bed to see her owner. Hinata smiled slightly, picked up the small pup, and placed her near her owner. Miyuki hesitated a bit before walking up to her owners face and giving it a small lick. It seemed Hinata was not the only one concerned for the little girl.

Half an hour later Hinata decided to head home before her father scolded her for being late. As she rose, she heard a small groan and quickly turned toward the little girl, who was now staring straight up at her. "Wha-what's going on? The little groaned as she tried to rise up, only to fall back down from the throbbing pain in her head. Hinata approached the little girl with a sigh of relief and began explaining the situation to the little girl. Afterwards the doctors came to check on the little girl and began to ask her questions like her name and where she lived. The little girl only turned a way from them, a small tear escaping her. Hinata, looking quite concerned, went up to the little girl and reached for her hand. "Please" she whispered, "we only want to help, tell us where your parents are. I'm sure they're looking for you."

They waited a few moments for the little girl to speak. "Well," the doctor sighed, "it seems she won't say anything today. Maybe tomorrow she'll feel like talking. With that, the doctor left the little girl there with Hinata.

Hinata just stood there, trying to figure out what to say.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the little girl turned to Hinata and spoke.

"You better go home, your family is waiting for you," she said, almost resentful.

Hinata was stunned; she could tell the little girl held some sort of grudge, which was surprising considering how young the girl appeared. "What about your family? They must-" Hinata began, but was silenced by the little girl as she raised her hand.

"You don't need to worry about me, now go home," the little girl said, slightly yelling the last words.

As Hinata left she could barely make out the last thing the little girl said, "There's no one waiting for me, I have been left alone in the world."

…

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**So what do you think? **Good? Bad?

Please tell me what you think. I have two more chapters done and plan on doing more. So tell me if you want me to post the next chapter.

M.L.C


	2. The Escape

**Disclaimer:** Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. Thought alot on how to write this and re wrote alot of it. Hopefully it comes out good.

* * *

**_Chapter 2_**

The Escape

The room was in silence, as Hinata just stood there, unable to say a thing. What could she say? They girl had been left alone, whatever the reason, she had no one left in her life. Suddenly Hinata was unable to contain her emotions. She quickly ran towards the little girl and picked her up into a warm embrace. Tears unable to stop from flowing down her cheeks.

A bit angry at the sudden embrace the little girl tried to break free, but found herself starting to cry as well. Since the incident, she had been alone, but she had refrained from telling anyone. The last thing she needed was their pity. However, this girl in front of her seemed to be generally concerned and worried about her. She had to know for certain though.

"Why are you crying? You're not the one who's all alone" the little girl said coldly as she pushed Hinata away.

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata sobbed, "I just can't believe someone so little is all alone."

"Well it's true," the little girl said as she looked away, "everyone I ever knew and cared for is gone…"

Miyuki slowly walks up to her and whines in sadness, causing the little girl to slightly smile and pat her warmly on the head. She knew Miyuki was right; this girl was just concerned for her. With a sigh, she lay back down and mumbled a small thanks to Hinata before going to sleep. Hinata smiled slightly and headed home.

The next day Hinata decided to wake up early and check on the little girl. Hopefully they could get some information out of her today. As she came to the little girl's room, she noticed the room was empty. Quickly she ran to the front desk and asked what had happened.

"Oh, the little girl… she's been taken to the orphanage," said the nurse as she filed some folders.

Hinata then turned and headed for the orphanage, hoping she would be able to see the little girl. As she approached the orphanage, she saw her, crying as she struggled to break free from the people who ran the orphanage. She could hear the little girl screaming. "You can't do this! She's all I have left!" Hinata turned her head and saw why the little girl was distressed. Apparently, the orphanage didn't allow pets, so Miyuki was being taken to the animal shelter. The little girl struggle until she could no longer see Miyuki. The orphanage people tried to lead her in as she pushed away from them and sat under a nearby tree and cried.

Hinata was yet again at a loss for words. She quietly approached the little girl and tried her best to console her. "It'll be alright," she began "you'll see, someone will come adopt you real soon, then you'll be able to go get Miyuki back." With a slight sniff the little girl looked up at Hinata, hoping what she said was true. Slowly the little girl moved into Hinata's arms, taking comfort in the only person in the village she could trust. A few moments later Hinata found herself drifting to sleep, dreaming of a certain hyperactive boy she loved. She had just gotten to the part where he was confessing his feelings for her when she was awaken by a yell.

It was the orphanage person, named Kayla; she was running around trying to settle a dispute between two small boys and an airplane. Hinata got up and noticed the little girl was gone and thought she must have gone inside the orphanage. Therefore, she decided to go home and train with her cousin.

* * *

"Alright, this little pup seems like it will have no problem finding an owner"

"True, it's young and cute, but you saw how she struggled to come with us, who's to say she won't run away once she's released?"

"There's no need to worry, pups this young tend to love any human who's nice to them. I'm sure once she gets a new owner she will forget all about the little girl and live happily in her new home."

"Alright everyone! Lunch time!"

"Sir, what do we do with the new pup?"

"Just leave her there, she'll be fine."

There in the small room was Miyuki, scared and alone. They didn't have time to put her room yet so they had decided to leave her in the check up room. It was small, with one cold metal table where they weighed and checked the animals that were brought in. Nothing else was in the room except a filing cabinet where they kept the charts, and a few medical tools that were needed to examine the animals.

Miyuki stood on top of the cold metal table, walking along the edges trying to find a way off the cold table. Finding no way to get down she sat and whined, hoping someone would come help her. Just then the door was opened and a small figure made it's way inside, excited Miyuki jumped with all her might at the figure. "S-stop Miyuki, I'm glad to see you too but we have to get out of here," giggle the little girl as she closed her eyes and concentrated. Thinking back to the place where she had met the older girl, and trying to remember what the place looked like.

"I'll meet you there in a minute Mike, just let me feed th-"

"What's wrong Sarah?"

"The little pup is gone? I left her here a few minutes ago, did someone move her?"

"I guess so, let's go, someone's probably feeding her right now."

"Yeah, you're right, let's go!"

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, I've just been informed that a child is missing!" Shizune said as she entered the Hokage's office.

"Well I'm sure it won't be hard to find the kid, go tell any available genin to search for the kid."

"At once lady Tsunade!" Shizune said with a salute as she marched out of the Hokage's office.

With that the search began, unfortunately most of the genin were off on missions so the only ones available were Sakura, Hinata and a very disgruntled blonde who though he had much better things to do than look for some kid. Though before he could complain the shy heiress spoke, "Um… t-this child… um…" Hinata began but was unable to say anything else as she noticed a pair of blue eyes staring straight at her. She soon found herself unable to breathe as she stared at the wonderful blue pools before her. Feeling like she was about to collapse she quickly averted her gaze and began to speak once more. "W-what information do you have of t-the child?" Hinata quickly spoke, trying her best not to faint as she looked up once more at the three in front of her.

"Well we don't know much, apparently she was just brought in to the orphanage this morning," Shizune said as she looked at the clipboard with the information on the child they were searching for, "she appears to be around 5 or 6 and has dark hair that's tied up into two ponytails, one on each side of her head. Hinata, recognizing the description to be of the young girl she had seen, began her search as quickly as she could. Leaving the rest to look questioningly at each other before they began their search as well.

* * *

Hinata leapt from branch to branch thoughts going to the small child she had just met. _'I have to find her, before she gets hurt' _ Hinata thought as she made her way outside of the village. She began looking around with her byakugan until she saw a figure near a stream and approached with caution. Hinata was quite surprised when the figure spoke, "So you found me, are you going to take me away now that I have Miyuki back?" the little girl said in an emotionless tone. "N-no," Hinata softly said as she approached the little girl "I don't want to separate you too, but I also don't want you to be alone. T-this village is full of nice people, w-why don't you stay here."

Usually the little girl would have yelled no but for some reason she felt like she wanted to stay. This young girl in front of her seemed to remind her so much of her mother. She was sweet, caring and had that air of warmth around her that you just felt drawn to. "w-well I could but how can I stay here when they'll just take Miyuki away from me!" she said as she fought back her tears. Hinata knew that she was right, so she tried to see if there was another way out of it. She knew her dad would never allow the little girl in their house; the only other way would be if she hid the girl somewhere. The little girl looked up at Hinata, hoping she had found a way for her to stay. Their thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of their hungry stomachs, which caused them to laugh a little. "Alright, how about we discuss this after lunch," Hinata said as she gently took the hand of the little girl. At first, the little girl was hesitant, but knew she was right. After they ate though, they were going to have to sit down and sort this problem out.

* * *

Well here's chapter 2!

Did you like it? Was it good, or bad?

Hopefully it will get better ^w^


	3. Unexpected Help

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out ^w^

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

Unexpected Help

As they walked past the gate, the little girl suddenly had a thought. "Hey! So how did you know I was gone from the orphanage?" she said as she looked up at Hinata. Just then, Hinata suddenly thought of something as she grabbed the girl and hid behind a nearby bush.

"Hey! W-what the heck was that for!" the little girl angrily shouted as Miyuki ran next to her.

"Oh, s-sorry." Hinata whispered, "But, you see… I was sent to look for you, and Naruto and Sakura were sent as well. W-which means that I have to be careful otherwise someone will find you."

"So what are we supposed to do?" the little girl whined, "I'm hungry!"

Hinata couldn't help but laugh at the little girls pout, in a way her expression and words were very similar to that of a certain energetic ninja she loved. Looking around, Hinata tried to find a way she could get something to eat for the both of them. As she turned towards the little girl, she noticed she was gone. Slightly nervous Hinata looked around and spotted the little girl walking towards a restaurant with Miyuki on her trail. Without thinking she ran after her, hoping no one noticed the little girl. As she reached the little girl, she looked up and saw where they were. It was Ichiraku's Ramen Shop, a place her crush often visited. Her thoughts soon went to the blonde-haired boy, as the little girl looked up at her with a confused look. Seeing as the older girl had to intention of moving the little girl took in upon herself to pull her into the shop. The little girl looked around the place, it was all but empty, except for a young boy who seemed to be stuffing his face. She decided to approach the boy and hop up on a stool next to him and, being the curious child she was, decided to ask him some questions.

"Hey! Whatcha eatin?" she said, looking up at the boy curiously.

"Hmm?" the boy mumbled, mouth full of ramen, as he looked at the little girl beside him.

"I SAID, what-are-you-eating!" the little girl said, expression losing some of her curiosity and looking annoyed more than anything else.

"Huh, ramen what else?" the boy said looking confused.

"What's ramen?" the little girl, her curiosity taking over again.

"WHAT'S RAMEN? Have you been living under a rock all your life! Ramen's the best thing there is to eat!" the boy shouted, quite surprised that there was someone in the village who had never heard or ramen. "I can't believe you have never experienced the joy of eating ramen" he slightly sniffed.

"What the-!" she said, taken back a little, _'what's with this boy, it's like he worships ramen or something'_ she though to herself as she looked at the boy.

"Here, I'll order you some ramen so you can try it!" the boy cheerfully said as he ordered a small ramen for her.

"W-wait" the little girl nervously said "I-I didn't agree to eat that stuff!"

"Don't worry, you'll love it!" the boy smiled as he began to eat his ramen once more.

When her order appeared she looked at it hesitantly, _'Well, it smells good, but that doesn't mean I'll like it. Besides, who made him in charge of what I eat' _ she though as she pushed the bowl away. Which was a bad move to make, especially in front of a ramen fan like him.

"Don't be so picky and eat it!" he yelled as he tried to force feed her. "You'll love it, I promise."

"N-no way, you're not the boss of me!" the little girl said, attempting to jump off the stool, hoping to be able to escape the loud boy.

As the boy stoop up to grab her he was met, well rather his rear, was met with the little girl's protector. "What th-!' he screamed as he tried to shake off the small puppy from him. The little girl just stood there laughing at the boy, encouraging Miyuki to continue biting the boy's butt. All through this commotion, a spectator suddenly came to her senses and noticed the scene in front of her. With a small eep the young girl unknowingly caught the two's attention.

"Huh, oh!" the little girl said as she ran towards Hinata, remembering that she was not alone with the boy. "Hey! This boy's trying to feed me strange food, use your ninja weapons on him!" the little girl slightly pleaded to Hinata. Apparently, the boy's rough behavior was not something this little girl was familiar with, nor was it something she appreciated.

"Hah, like I couldn't handle a few ninja weapons, I'm a ninja too!" the boy said as he proudly pointed as his forehead protector.

At this the little girl slowly hid behind Hinata, just because she trusted Hinata did not mean she had changed her mind about ninjas. "Hmph knew most ninjas were jerks," she mumbled as she looked angrily at the boy.

"What was that!" the boy exclaimed furiously looking down at the little girl, _'first she criticizes ramen and now she's bad-mouthing ninjas! Who is this kid?'_ the boy thought as he looked up at the person the little girl was hiding behind, recognizing the familiar girl. "Oh, hey Hinata! Are you taking a break as well? Hey do you know this brat?"

"Um" Hinata mumbled shyly "Y-yes N-Naruto, umm…she's a f-friend of mine." Hinata replied, trying not to say anything to make him realize the little girl was the one they were looking for.

"I see," the blonde responded as he looked back at the little girl. "So what's her name?"

"Um," Hinata paused, realizing she never found out the little girl's name. Turning to look down at the little girl Hinata felt a little guilty that she never bothered to ask her her name. Turning shyly back at Naruto the girl was unable to think of what to say. Naruto just stood there staring at her confused, prompting Hinata to blush under his gaze. Seeing both of the older kids faces, the little girl decided to step in, "My name's Inari, and this is my puppy Miyuki." she said in a emotionless yet slightly angry tone, she didn't like the boy asking questions about her.

"Oh, well sorry for trying to force you to eat ramen," Naruto sheepishly said, just then he heard the little girl's hungry stomach and couldn't help but chuckle, "but since you're here why don't you join me for some ramen? Maybe you can convince the little brat to eat Hinata." he grinned as he looked up at Hinata.

Hinata blushed at his request but accepted with a shy nod as she took her seat. Inari was still hesitant as she climbed up the stool next to Hinata, catching Miyuki as she hopped up into her arms. Something about that boy really irked her, but she knew that if Hinata knew him and accepted to eat with him he couldn't be all that bad. However, part of her wondered why she trusted Hinata's decisions so much. When their orders arrived, Inari looked down at her bowl and then up at the two. Hinata could tell she was not used to eating such food so she tried her best to comfort her.

"J-just try a small bite, it's actually very good." Hinata said with a warm smile, and with that, Inari took a bite of the ramen as Naruto stared intensely at her. When she swallowed she couldn't help but feel uneasy as she saw the boy staring at her, though she was not about to let him intimidate her.

"S-stop staring at me!" she yelled as she pointed angrily at Naruto, "you're creeping me out!"

"Geez, sorry! I just wanted to know what you though of the ramen." Naruto said, _'Man this kid is touchy'_ he tough as he waited for her response.

"D-did you like it Inari?" Hinata softly asked as she smiled at Inari. Inari slightly nodded as she forgot about the annoying blonde-haired boy and smiled happily at Hinata.

"I-it was pretty good," she said reluctantly as she looked at Naruto, "I guess the loud-mouth over there wasn't all talk."

Naruto was about to yell back but for once in his life he decided to be mature about it. After all, a future Hokage should not be so quick to fight with little brats. Instead, he proceeded to eat his bowl of ramen, ordering another as he finished his first bowl.

"Hey kid, would you like another bowl," he said with a smile, trying his best to get on the little girl's list of 'good ninjas'.

"Fine, but don't think this means I don't think you're a bad ninja!" Inari pointed out, crushing Naruto's plan and slightly ticking him off as well.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle as she watched the two argue, it was as if they had already developed a bond with one another. The sun was setting as they were eating; even Miyuki received a small bowl to try. In the end she finished hers quickly and proceeded to finishing Naruto's bowl as well, which earned her a scolding from Hinata and a chuckle from Inari, leaving a blond boy sniffling as he looked at his empty bowl of ramen. As time passed, Inari decided to bring up the conversation she had with Hinata earlier.

"So what are we going to do about me?" Inari asked casually, noticing a look of uneasiness from Hinata as she brought up the subject.

"About what?" Naruto replied looking confused.

Hinata nervously responded "Um, y-you see Naruto, t-this is the girl we were sent to look for and-"

"Oh you found her, that's great! So I guess we should take her to the orphanage huh." Naruto said, happy to hear Hinata had found the little girl.

"No way! I am not going back there so they so they can take Miyuki away from me again! I'll never go back and you can't make me!" Inari yelled, intense anger was evident in her eyes. Naruto found it a bit chilling, but before he could say anything, Hinata spoke up, "S-she's right Naruto, w-we can't separate them, they're all they have left." At this Naruto couldn't help but relate with the girl, he remembered how alone he felt when he was her age, and he wasn't about to make her go through what he'd been through. "Alright, so what are we going to do?"

"We?" Inari spoke, looking up at him distrustingly and confused as well.

"Look kid, you might be a pain but I'm not about to separate you and your puppy, I wanna help!" he grinned. "So what can I do to help you guys?"

Inari was slightly taken back by this; she never expected the blonde ninja to be so _kind_. Hinata however knew him better as a small blush lit her face, "Naruto…" she softly whispered. Naruto then looked from one to the other with a smile, waiting to hear what their plan was.

"Alright then you can help, but shouldn't you be getting home soon? Won't your parents worry?" Inari questioned.

With that, Naruto looked down at the floor sadly; from Hinata's point of view, she could sort of see a tear in his eye. "N-nah, I'm an orphan just like you." he said, trying his hardest to fake a smile. Seeing him like this was not something Hinata could stand, she wanted so badly to be able to comfort him, and had she been a more confident person she would have. However, that was not the case, she was still the shy Hyuuga she had always been, and even if she hated herself for being so weak, now was not the time to dwell on such things. Therefore, Hinata gathered all her courage, went up to Naruto, and gently put her hand on his shoulder. This of course caught the boy off guard as he looked up at Hinata, her eyes filled with concern. In a way, he felt like she was trying to tell him something but he couldn't figure out what. As he thought about it, he realized he had no reason to be upset. After all, it wasn't as if he was all alone in the world, he had friends that cared for him, as Hinata had just shown him. Feeling much better Naruto then thanked Hinata with a smile that made her blush slightly, she was about to turn away when she caught his gaze once more. This time however they weren't sad and filled with pain; his eyes were once again that wonderful warm blue she loved so much. With a small sigh of relief, she returned his smile with once of her own, trying her hardest not to turn completely red.

"So do you live in the orphanage too?" Inari asked, surprising them both as they turned their attention to her.

"Huh? Oh, no I live alone in an apartment." Naruto replied, now finding it much easier to talk about his life.

"I see," Inari pondered as she walked up to Hinata and pulled on her jacket. "Hey! Why don't I live at his place, he lives alone so no one would find me there? It's perfect!" Inari exclaimed, quite proud she thought of the idea.

"Uh, I-I umm…" Hinata stuttered, trying to find a way to say no. She did not want to burden Naruto with having to take care of a little girl and a puppy.

"Sounds like a plan to me! What do you say Hinata?" Naruto said as he walked behind Inari. "Besides I'm sure I can handle this little brat!' he smirked, ruffling up Inari's hair which earned him a glare from Inari.

"R-really Naruto? Y-you want to take her in?" Hinata said a bit shocked, but before Naruto could respond the shy Hyuuga embraced him in a hug. "T-thank you Naruto! I-I was so worried; I didn't know where I was going to hide her! T-thank you so much!" Hinata happily said as she hugged him even tighter. Naruto however was, for once in his life, at a loss for words. In all his life he hardly had anyone thank him, much less hug him. Therefore, for someone, especially a girl, to hug him was quite a surprise for the blond boy as he felt a warmth cross his face. His head turned beet red, as Naruto found himself unable to think of what to say or do. Luckily, the shy Hyuuga soon realized what she was doing and released him, turning completely red before passing out right in front of him. Had the boy not still been in shock he would have probably caught the poor girl as she fell. As Naruto, Inari and Miyuki looked down at Hinata and then back at themselves, they wondered what they should do next. Being the oldest in the group Naruto felt like it was up to him to take charge.

"A-alright, since Hinata has apparently fainted I guess we should all go to my place and sort things out there." Naruto said as he picked up the Hyuuga heir from the ground and began walking home. Inari and Miyuki followed behind as Inari looked down at Miyuki and snickered "This is going to going to be fun!" To which Miyuki replied with a small bark and wag of her tail.

* * *

End of chapter 3!

The little girl's name has been revealed! Originally the name Imari kept coming into my head, but it didn't seem to fit her so I changed it. Then when I bought the Art of Naruto UZUMAKI book and read that there was a little boy in the manga who was called Inari as well. I actually forgotten all about him XD, and the name fit her nicely so I didn't change it.

Did you like it?

Did I get their personalities right?

Poor little Hinata, unaware of her actions XD

Just a small piece of fluff (very small w )

I appreciate any comments or suggestions you have! ^w^

It's ok if you don't like it, just don't comment that you hate it unless you have a suggestion of how to make it better or describe what parts you didn't like so I can do better next time.

And if anyone's wondering, Hinata was just ataring up into space all that time. though it wasn't too long. Naruto and Inari were only talking for about 5 minutes or so. Also, the orphanage would never allow pets because there's some kids in there who are severely allergic to dogs and cats.


	4. You're not alone!

_**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!_

_**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there._

_P.s I changed the first chapter a little since at the beginning it says she's nine. (didn't know i put an age for her there)_

_That part was from my rough draft, before i had most of the story planned out. But now i have her new age and the ages of the others as well. (Now fits better with everything i have planned later on)_

_You'll soon know her age, just remember she's not nine! ^w^_

* * *

**_Chapter 4 _**

You're not alone!

As they entered Naruto's home Inari could already tell this was turning into a bad idea. There were dirty clothes everywhere and more empty ramen cups than you could count, how someone could live here was beyond her understanding. As Naruto went to his room to lay Hinata down Inari decided to look around. Besides the mess there really wasn't much of anything else, it was a simple one-bedroom apartment, it had a small kitchen that joined with the living room, which contained a small couch and table. Through the small hallway, you could see the door to the bathroom and to his room, near the entrance was a small closet to the left and that was it. When Naruto returned to the living room, Inari began her questioning.

"So how am I supposed to live here? It's really messy and you only have one bed! It really doesn't look like you thought this through; I seriously doubt you can take care of me."

"Why you-!" Naruto began as he clenched his fists, "Here I am offering my home to you when you have nowhere else to go and you have the nerve to insult me! You little brat!" Inari only stared at him wide-eyed, suddenly regretting what she had said, but tried.

"Y-yeah, but it's true!" she huffed, "You said so yourself, you're an orphan!"

"SOOO!"

"Sooo, you've never had someone there to take care of you and love you when you were little right?

"Well…. I-I…I have Iruka sensei now."

"But not since you were my age, right?

"….right." Naruto whispered, trying to fight back a stray tear.

"Look… I-I'm just trying to say that you don't know how to take care of someone because you've never been cared for."

"Mmh…" Naruto slightly nodded, overcome with sadness.

Inari stood there, looking up at the blonde-haired boy and then looked down to the floor, feeling guilty since it looked like she had hit a nerve. In a way she felt like she had disappointed her mother, who had always told her to be kind and considerate to others. The little girl looked back up, thinking she should apologize to the boy, when she saw him clench his fist and shake a little.

Naruto looked at Inari and pulled back his fist, as if preparing for an attack. Inari looked at him with wide eyes, fearful of what he would do, so she picked up Miyuki and held her close, hoping the puppy's growls would make him stop his attack. However, the only attack that came was a slight poke on her forehead. As Inari looked up, she saw the blonde boy grin and say, "Don't worry about it kid, I think I can handle a twerp like you. Besides, Hinata will also be here to help me." Naruto then went to the closet, pulled out some blankets and laid them on the couch to which Inari said, "Hey, if you think I'm going to sleep there then-"

"Relax kid," Naruto said cutting her off, "I'm going to sleep there; you're going to sleep in my room. Ok?"

With that, Inari nodded slightly and followed Naruto to his room where the sleeping heir resided. They looked down at her and then back at each other, as Inari placed Miyuki down on the bed. The curious little pup then went over to Hinata and licked her face as the Hyuuga shifted a little in her sleep and smiled. It was then that they heard her whisper something; "Mmmh…_Na-Naruto…" _with that Inari looked up at the blonde boy whose cheeks had turned a slightly red and gave him a smirk.

"H-hey, w-what's that look for!" Naruto said nervously.

"She said you name, and quite sweetly if I may add," Inari said with an even bigger smirk on her face.

"S-so what, that doesn't mean anything?" the blonde boy huffed as he turned his attention back on the heiress who spoke once more "Mmh, Inari's going to live w-with N-na-Naruto…" she softly whispered as she shifted in her sleep once more. Naruto then turned to Inari and grinned, "See? That's why she said my name, and you were making a big deal about it.

"Whatever," Inari huffed, '_You were the one who turned all red' _she though to herself as she sat down on the end of the bed.

At that moment, the young Hyuuga awoke from her slumber, slowly rubbing her eyes as she tried to figure out where she was. As she glanced up, she noticed her crush staring right at her, unable to break away from his gaze, Hinata tried her best not to faint as a small blush dusted her cheeks. _'W-what am I doing here with Naruto' _she thought to herself as she finally broke for the blonde's gaze and noticed the little girl sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto said with a slight wave, and then pointed to Inari, "Looks like this little brat woke you up huh?"

"I did not!" Inari angrily exclaimed, "If anything woke her up it was probably your constant yelling."

"Oh, yeah? Well look who's the one yelling!"

"Dummy! She's already awake; you're the one who yelled while she was sleeping!" Inari said as she turned to Hinata, "He's the one who woke you up not me. Right? "

Hinata then giggled slightly "Actually you two didn't wake up me, it was this little cutie."

The two then looked down to see Miyuki curled up in Hinata's lap, slightly wagging her tail.

"I still say it was the kid's fault, it's her dog anyway." Naruto announced as he brought his arms up behind his head.

"Dumb ninja boy," Inari angrily mumbled as she turned to Hinata, "You're going to stay with us tonight, right?" she asked pleadingly.

"S-sorry, but my father has strict rules that I must tell him a day in advance if I was to sleep over at a friend's house. N-not to mention he probably wouldn't let me stay at a b-boy's house." Hinata softly spoke as she glanced up at the clock, which read 10:30 pm, "I-I have to go now, f-father never wants me out after 11pm." With that, Hinata gently placed Miyuki down on the bed and headed for the door, Inari trailing behind.

As she headed out, she turned to Naruto and blushed, "Sorry to trouble you with all this Naruto, I'll come back early tomorrow morning so we can discuss this all out.

"Don't worry about it Hinata," Naruto said with a grin, "the kid's in good hands" Hinata nodded slightly as she kneeled down to talk to Inari.

"Listen to what Naruto tells you, ok? I'll come see you in the morning" Hinata softly said Inari nodded slightly. Hinata could see her shaking a bit so she pulled her into a gently hug. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Naruto and I are here for you," she said warmly as she pulled away from the hug.

"That's right kid, I promised to help you and I never go back on my word!" Naruto said proudly as he brought his fist up to his chest.

"Y-yeah," Inari said hesitantly as she looked up at the blond-haired boy. She was starting to feel that she could count on him, but a part of her was still afraid. Since the death of her parents, she has been wandering around with only Miyuki as company. Never making friends or talking too much with other people, every night she would sleep in the woods with Miyuki held tightly against her chest. Though the journey had been scary, she had never come across any danger, but now that she was in a town full of ninjas, she couldn't help but be fearful. It had been ninjas who had killed her parents, who's to say this wasn't where they came from. As the chilling realization hit her, Inari found herself shaking in fear as she looked from the blonde boy to the dark blue haired girl. Inari then felt like she wanted to run away, she wanted to get Miyuki and leave the village. Thinking over and over again of the forest where she first met the young heiress, Inari wished with all her might to be able leave the blonde-haired boy's home and return to that forest.

"Hey kid, you ok?" Naruto asked as approached the little girl.

Hinata then noticed something was wrong, as Inari appeared to be fading away. Naruto soon noticed as well as he stood there, staring at her wide-eyed. The young heiress felt like she had to do something as she approached the small child and went down to her eye level. _"Inari,"_ she gently called out as Inari snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the Hyuuga in front of her.

"Inari, it's going to be alright. We're not going to hurt you, you can trust us," Hinata said warmly as she embraced Inari. "I-I know we haven't know each other for much time," she whispered softly, "but I feel like you're a part of my family now, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect you."

"R-really?" Inari said as she looked up at the young heir, with awe.

"Sheesh kid, how many times do we gotta tell ya, you can trust us?" Naruto said as he patted the little girls head.

"Yeah well, it's hard to trust a dummy like you!" Inari snapped as she pushed his hand away, returning to her usual self.

"A-alright then, I really must be going," Hinata said with a slight giggle, "Please get some rest you two, I'll be back around 8." With that she bowed and waved goodbye to the little girl and blonde. "Well then, you heard what Hinata said, it's time for you to go to bed," Naruto said as he led her to his room.

"Hey, I can walk on my own," Inari said softly, a yawn slowly escaping her mouth.

"Alright, alright," Naruto said as he watched her walk to his room, more yawns escaping her mouth as she tiredly made her way into the hallway. She only made it to the door as Naruto saw her fall to the ground. At first he though she was ill, but as he picked her up he could hear her sleeping. As he looked at the small child in his arms he let out a small chuckle, "Heh, kid's kind of cute when she's not running her mouth off." Naruto made his way into his room gently laid Inari down, next to Miyuki. Taking off the little girl's shoes, Naruto then went to his closet, pulled out a blanket and laid it on top of Inari and Miyuki. Slowly, he closed the door behind him and went to his lumpy couch, dreading the uncomfortable night that he would have.

As he laid there awake, Naruto could shake off what he had seen earlier. He knew he couldn't have been mistaken, he had seen the little girl fade right before his eyes, and he knew Hinata had seen it as well. What didn't make sense was how she did it, Naruto didn't see her make any hand signs, and not to mention he's never heard of anyone fading before. _Was she sick? Was she even aware that she was doing it?_

Naruto got up and shook his head slightly, "No, I don't think she was doing it on purpose," the blonde said with one hand on his chin, "but that just leaves more questions." Unable to figure it out the blonde just scratched his head and let out a sigh as he laid back down, "Ah! I'll figure it out after I get a good night's sleep!" With that, Naruto pulled the covers over his and drifted off to sleep with a big smile, dreaming of the future where he was the Hokage.

"Yeah… tomorrow," the blonde-haired ninja mumbled in his sleep, "…we'll figure out just who this kid is…"

* * *

_Well? What do you think so far? I'm sure it's not that good but I've never been to good with writing ^^;_

_I'm thinking of making a Doujinshi of this, what do you think?_

_If I do it will probably take some time to do, but if I don't then I'll probably draw some pics of them so you can see what Inari and Miyuki look like ^w^_

_I'll be sure to post a link on my profile, so comment and tell me your opinion._

_Hopefully you guys don't hate Little Inari, remember, she's just a little girl._

_I'm still in the process of thinking up everyone's age. It has to be calculated to the timeline. I'll probably have more info on them in my next chapter._

_If you get confused by anything just comment and I'll answer any questions you have._

_Please comment and tell me what you think! 3_

_P.s I changed the first chapter a little since at the beginning it says she's nine._

_Well she's not, that was my original idea, but after sorting out the details I have a new age for her._

_You'll soon know her age, just remember she's not nine! ^w^_


	5. Here's what we'll do!

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

**_Chapter 5 _**

Here's what we'll do!

It was early in the morning in the town of Konoha, when the blonde-haired ninja was roughly shaken awake from his deep slumber by a small figure. As the blonde-haired boy tried to ignore the child and return to his pleasant dreams, he suddenly heard a faint noise coming from behind him. This noise caught the child's attention as she headed for the noise, leaving a very pleased Naruto alone so that he could return to his previous dreams. He was just beginning to doze off when he heard a yell, quickly his eyes flew open as he turned his head and caught sight of a mysterious figure.

"W-wha-" Naruto mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of everything.

"G-good m-morning N-n-naruto." said the shy kunoichi.

"Huh… Oh, Hinata!" Naruto said, now fully awake, "How'd you get here?"

"Man, you're even dumber in the morning," remarked the little girl.

"Wha-" the blonde said as he turned and saw Inari standing next to Hinata.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Inari asked a bit surprised, "She did say she was coming in the morning, remember? I tried to wake you up before she came, but-"

"I-I'm sorry N-Naruto I didn't mean to wake you." Hinata said softly, slightly bowing her head.

"Oh don't worry Hinata, it's my fault for sleeping so late," Naruto said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

Hinata couldn't help but blush as she watched her crush, every time she was near him she felt her heart tighten up. His smile, his actions, everything about him affected her in one way or another, but there was one thing that beat the rest and always sent her heart pacing and made her lightheaded. His touch. She remembered the times he had placed his hand on her forehead when he asked if she was feeling all right, that alone would cause her to turn fully red. Hinata could never explain the sensation she felt when his warm hand touched her skin, it was a mysterious feeling to her, all she knew was that it always made her heart flutter. As she searched her thoughts she came upon a recent memory, one that she had thought was a wonderful dream. It had been just the other day while they were eating ramen, as they were discussing the situation Inari was in. Naruto had generously offered his home and Hinata couldn't help but be utterly grateful to have her worries solved so suddenly. Therefore, without even thinking, she had hugged him. Hinata still couldn't believe she had done that. What had she been thinking? That's just it, she hadn't, it was all on impulse. Before she could even protest such an action, it was done. Had she been fully conscious of her own actions she would have never done such a thing. Nevertheless, it had been done, and as she thought about it more she began to remember the wonderful experience she had. The warmth she felt as she wrapped her arms around his waist, the funny feeling that was coursing through her body, and the feeling of her heart beating against her chest, as if it was going to explode. Then Hinata remembered something else, something she hadn't really paid attention to when she was hugging him. A heartbeat. She had heard a heart beating fast, and it took a while for Hinata to realize whose heartbeat it was. It was Naruto's. A small blush graced her cheeks as she remember the sound of his heart, since her head had been pressed into his chest it wasn't a surprise that she had been able to hear it. What sent a small warmth into her stomach was that his heart was beating because of her. It made her smile as an even bigger blush came over her face. She didn't want to disillusion herself into thinking it was because he liked her, something like that could never happen. No matter how much she wished it. Hinata knew that his increased heartbeat was most likely due to the fact that he was surprised by her actions. After all, something like that was unexpected from the Hyuuga heiress. As she thought more about the situation, her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she heard someone call her name.

"HINATA!"

"Eh?" said a slightly startled kunoichi as she turned her attention to the Blonde-haired boy if front of her. She found herself blushing as she noticed he was quite close to her, his face was almost pressed into hers. The poor Hyuuga did her best not to faint as she saw his inviting blue eyes looking directly at her, how could anyone not melt as they looked into his eyes. To her his eyes were, for lack of a better word, overwhelming. Hinata often found it impossible to break free from his eyes, once they had you in their gaze if was all over. As the shy girl tried to turn her attention to something else, she noticed Naruto had asked her something. "Umm… What?'

"What's wrong with you Hinata?" Naruto sighed, "You're acting sort of weird." Which to him was nothing new, in his opinion Hinata was always acting weird. To him she has always been a gloomy, timid and always terrified weirdo, but he didn't mind, he kinda liked people like her. .

"S-sorry Naruto, I-I was just thinking."

"Huh, thinking? Of what?"

"Umm…. Well…." Hinata mumbled as she nervously though of her response, 'I can't tell him… w-what should I say?' she though to herself. "I-it was n-nothing important." she finally responded as she nervously played with her fingers.

"Well if you say so," Naruto said _'well whatever, if must be a Hinata thing' _he thought to himself, accepting this as another weird thing Hinata does. "Anyway, like I was saying before, what's the plan?"

"Uh, well…" Hinata mumbled as she tried to come up with something. "C-can't we talk to the Hokage a-about this? M-maybe she can help us."

"Yeah, I guess she could help find a family that would take the kid and her pup as well."

"No way!" Inari cried, "I-I-I can't get new parents, I-I won't want new parents! Not after…not after_…."_

As Inari began weeping, Hinata and Naruto went to her side and tried to calm her down. Miyuki stood in front of her until Inari picked her up and slowly began to calm down. With every second that passed Hinata and Naruto couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Hinata knew they had been killed, but she had no idea how it had happened or how Inari and Miyuki had managed to get away. After a while, Inari took a deep breath and sad down on the couch, unable to raise her head up to look at them, "I guess I should tell you what happened."

"I-I don't really know much, I was on my way to my father's study with my mother when it happened..." Inari began as she thought back to that day.

* * *

_It was a regular day in our home, my mother and I would eat breakfast and then plan out the rest of our day._

"_So what are we going to do today mother?'_

"_Well first we're going to go see your father. He's been working all week long and I think he deserves a vacation, don't you?_

"_Of course, so is that why I have this backpack on?"_

"_Yes, we're going camping for the weekend and that backpack has everything you'll need in it. We-!"_

"_Mother, what's wro-" _

_My mother then pulled me into a nearby room and said, "Sweetie, I need you to stay in this room ok? I have to go check something out, I'll be right back." _

_As I waited for my mother to come back I couldn't help but get a bit bored, so I decided to get my puppy, Miyuki, from my room. Luckily, my room was only a few doors to the left or the room I was in so it didn't take long for me to get her. When I came back, I saw my mother running towards me looking very worried. At first, I thought she was going to be mad because I left the room but she just grabbed my hand and led me down the hall towards my father's study. As we approached the room, I heard an angry voice._

"_Where's the child!"_

"_We don't know who you're talking about!"_

_I looked through the crack of the door and saw these big men. There were three of them, two big muscularly guys and a skinny man in the middle of them. The guy in the middle seemed to be the one yelling at my father, who was sitting at his desk, next to him was Richard, his assistant._

"_Don't play with me you fool! We won't hesitate to destroy this whole village!"_

"_Yeah, so you better tell us where the child is!"_

_*gulp*_

_I couldn't see much, but I could tell Richard was scared._

"_You have one last chance. TELL US WHERE THE BRAT IS!"_

_As this was going on my mom kept trying to lead me away._

"_M-mother, what's happening!"_

"_Shush, we must get out of here"_

"_But father's-"_

"_He's doing this to protect you sweetie, we must leave now or his sacrifice will be in vain"_

_When I heard that I began to feel terrified, I wanted this all to be a dream, "Sacrifice! W-wha-"_

"_AAAAUUUUUGGHHH!"_

_I turned my head back to the crack on the door and saw my father on the floor with one of the big men kicking him while the other big man was tying up Richard. _

_My mom then pulled me away from the door as I screamed, "FATHER!"_

_It was then that the skinny man's voice came from my father's study, "Someone's here!"_

"_It must be the child, spread out and find the brat!"_

_A-after that I remember my mother was screaming._

"_AAAHHHH!"_

_Then…_

* * *

Hinata and Naruto waited for her to finish the story, but after a minute of silence then knew something was wrong.

"H-hey kid, you okay?" Naruto questioned as he looked down at her. He couldn't understand what had happened to her, everything was fine until she got to the part about her mother.

"N-Naruto…I-I think she's in shock," Hinata said in a worried tone.

"Shock?"

"Y-yes, I-it usually happens to people who have been through an intense or distressful experience. I-I think it must have something to do with the ninja who killed her parents."

"What! Ninja killed her parents?"

"Umm, y-yes, she told me that in the hospital and-"

"Wait, when were you two at the hospital?"

"Oh, umm…" Hinata began, as she told Naruto all that had happened before they saw him at Ichiraku's.

"I see…that explains why she doesn't like ninjas," the blonde said as he looked at the small child, "so now what do we do?"

"W-we have to see if we can snap her back into reality."

As they looked at each other and then back at the little girl, they tried to think of what to do. First Miyuki tried to help her by licking and nudging her, but failed to get a response from her. Hinata tried to get her attention my gently shaking her and speaking softly to her but that didn't work either. It was then that the blonde-haired boy decided to try something that always seemed to work on him. Raising his right hand, he brought it up to Inari's level and smacked her in the head, sending her to the floor in an instant. Hinata and Miyuki just stared at the scene in shock, as Naruto looked at them with a big 'what?' expression.

"N-Naruto, w-why-" Hinata began as she looked down at Inari with a worried look.

"Huh, oh well, Sakura always does that to me when I'm day dreaming so I though maybe it could work on her as well. Though I think I might have done it a bit too hard huh," Naruto said nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

Hinata wasn't able to respond as they saw Inari slowly get up and rub her head as she looked from Hinata to Naruto. She was about to ask Inari if she was all right when…

"Waaahhhhhhhhh!"

"What th-? Geez kid I-I'm sorry, I didn't know I hit ya that hard." Naruto said in a panicked voice as he tried to console the little girl.

"What kind of jerk hits kids! Why did you even hit me in the first place?" Inari yelled as she fought back her tears to mere sniffles.

"W-well, you were pretty out of it kid, I was just trying to snap you out of it."

"I-it's true Inari, N-Naruto was just trying to help," Hinata said as she gently rubbed Inari's head and checked to see if she was injured. "Does it still hurt?"

"N-no," Inari said as she looked up at the young Hyuuga, who's kind and gentle nature reminded her of her mother.

"I-I really am sorry kid," Naruto said sadly as he looked at Inari who was sitting on Hinata's lap. "But what the heck happened to ya anyways?"

"W-well, I don't really remember…" Inari sad gloomily as she reached for Miyuki and held her close to her chest.

"N-Naruto, I-I thinks it's best if we drop the subject for now."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but that still leaves us with the problem of what to do with this kid."

"Well I'm not going to get adopted by some strangers that's for sure!" Inari huffed, "I-I… I don't think I can handle that sort of thing right now…"

Hinata and Naruto looked sadly at Inari and then at each other, both silently wondering what they were going to do. It was a given that they would not be able to tell anyone about the small child. Otherwise, they were sure she would be put in the orphanage and later adopted, after all, she was young and cute, it would be easy to find a home for her. There was a few minutes of silence before the young blonde spoke.

"Alright then! Looks like the only think we can do it keep the brat a secret, that way she can't be taken to the orphanage! So she'll stay with me till she feels ready to have a new family." Naruto exclaimed as he looked at the two for their thoughts on his plan.

"Y-yes, I think that's the only thing we can do. G-good thinking N-Naruto." Hinata shyly spoke, a slight blush coming over her as the blonde smiled.

"I guess…" Inari mumbled as she felt her heart ache slightly, _'I'll never be ready for a new family, never!' _

"Then it's settled, she'll live at my place!" Naruto happily announced.

"But… this place is too small; you don't even have an extra room." Inari pointed out.

"Oh don't worry about that, you can have my room and I'll just use the living room." Naruto said, grinning happily.

"Oh umm...thanks, but isn't the couch very uncomfortable?"

"Eh, don't remind me," the blonde said despondently, receiving a small giggle from the shy heiress.

'_I can't believe he's doing all this for me…I guess there's more to him than I though' _Inari pondered.

"W-well um…I have a futon at home that you could use," Hinata said nervously as she played with her index fingers. "I-I don't really use it so…" she trailed off, unable to speak anymore as she felt her cheeks burning brightly. She was much more nervous and shy now that she could feel his gaze on her. It wasn't unusual for her to feel this way when she talked around him, it was actually quite normal. Something about his presence always made her more self-conscious and shy; she always tried her best not to make a fool of herself around him. Though the results were usually the opposite, the fainting, blushing, stuttering, and rapidly beating heart were always present. The shy Hyuuga silently prayed that with time she would be able to talk to him more comfortably, and that they could become closer in the process.

"Really? That'd be great Hinata!" the blond-haired boy said happily, "Yay! Now I don't have to sleep on that awful couch."

Hinata couldn't help but laugh slightly at his cheerful personality; nothing ever seemed to bother him. What made her even happier was that she was the one who had caused his happy outburst. That in itself was enough to bring a smile and slight blush to the heiress's face.

"Alright, so now that that's taken care of, what about the rest of the stuff?"

"What stuff?" Naruto asked the small girl, wondering what the heck she was talking about. The shy kunoichi looked at Inari as well, also wondering what she was talking about.

"Well, stuff I'll need, like clothes, food, things like that, and food for Miyuki as well. After all, we're going to be here a while right?"

Just then if finally hit the two young ninja; they were going to be raising a child all on their own. Hinata was a bit worried, sure, she had a little sister and she did take care of her, but her father was the one that provided Hanabi with everything she needed. Naruto on the other hand was a bit happy, he wasn't going to be alone anymore, sure, the brat got on his nerves, but he could put up with her. He'd just have to learn how to get along with her. Another thing was that Hinata was also going to be around him, sure it was because of the brat, but that would also give him a chance to be better friends with her. The blonde ninja didn't really have many friends, so the idea of having a new one made him really happy. Moreover, Hinata was a nice person, so he was sure they'd be able to get along quite well. Naruto couldn't help but grin as he though about this, in just one day his life was changing for the better. He wasn't going to be alone anymore. Except when the kid would decide to be adopted and leave his home. The blonde wondered what would happen then, but decided to deal with it when it came. When they finally snapped out of their thoughts, Inari had gone to the kitchen to give Miyuki some milk.

"Guess we'll have to go shopping, huh Hinata?

"Uh, y-yeah, except…"

"Except?"

"Well, we can't take her with us, but we can't buy her clothes without taking her since we don't know her size, plus we don't know what she likes to eat."

"You could always ask me you know," Inari said from behind them, slightly startling the two young ninja.

"Alright kid, how bout you write it all down for us?"

"Mmh, I-I'll go to the store and buy what a can, then I'll come drop the things off and go bring the futon from my home."

"Alright, be careful though; make sure not to draw suspicion when you buy the kids things."

"Right."

"Hey I wanna go!" Inari said cheerfully, hoping to go explore the village.

"No way! Just stay her like a good little brat."

"Come on, besides, it's not right to leave a child by themselves. That's so irresponsible!" Inari pointed out, wondering if the blonde would give in.

"Eh, don't give me that kid; you're old enough to be left alone. What are you, seven?" the blonde asked curiously, the girl never did tell them how old she was.

"Seven? No way, I'm only four years old." She said, a bit surprised by their expressions. Both young teens were a bit taken back when they heard what she had said. She was only four? Hinata was a bit surprised but accepted it quickly. The blonde-haired boy however, didn't react quite so calmly,

"There's no way you're only four!" he pointed accusingly at the small girl in front of him, "For one, you don't act like a four year old, plus I've never heard of a four year old that talks like you do. The young ninja wasn't about to buy her story, sure she looked young, but it just did not seem possible for her to be so young.

"What's that suppose to mean! I'll have you know that since I learned to talk I've been educated on many things. My mother always wanted me to learn as much as I could, and my father had a huge library were we would spend hours reading about all sorts of things." As Inari spoke, you could tell she had many fond memories of her parents and the sort time they spent together. The two young ninja just couldn't believe it, to be so young and left alone in the world, with so few memories. Naruto had also been left to care for himself at a young age, but not as young as her. Both of them were relieved to know she would not have to wander the streets alone anymore, now they were even more determined to protect and help Inari In any way they could.

"It's alright, we believe you." Hinata spoke softly.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So can I go with you guys? I'm sure no ones looking for me, please?" Inari looked up at them with sad eyes and a small pout.

"Nice try kid, but that won't work on me. Besides, we can't take any chances." Naruto said as he picked up his coat and went to the door. "We'll I've got to go, I'll be back in a few hours. See ya later." He waved, closing the door behind him.

"He's right, it's better if you stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can okay?" Hinata smiled warmly at her as she took the list of things to buy and headed for the door. She gave Inari a small hug goodbye and closed the door behind her.

Inari stood in front of the door until Miyuki came to her side and whimpered softly. "Don't worry," she said as she bent down and scratched Miyuki's head, "You know I'm not one to just stay put…"

* * *

Well that's the end! (Phew, thought I'd never finish it)

Sorry for the wait, got a small case of writer's block.

Can't promise a new chapter every week, but I'll try not to take too long in between posts.

After much deliberation and calculating, I came up her being 4 yrs. Old. BTW, Miyuki is about 3 months old. (Miyuki's based on a puppy I had, if you wan to see a picture of her just go to my page for the link.

And no, she's not a super genius or anything like that. I have a four-year-old neighbor who's pretty sharp. She's not quite like Inari but I think it's reasonable for her to be smart since her parent's are the rich intellectual type. (Her dad was the King of the Village they lived in)

Besides, Hinata was three when she started training, and Neji was four and he was pretty smart as well. So hopefully no one thinks I made her too smart for her age. Btw, Naruto and Hinata are almost 14 years old. Wanted them to be older than in the beginning but not quite the age of the Shippuden episodes. I'll post pictures of them later on and show them to ya'll so you'll know how they're suppose to look like.

Comments are very much appreciated ^w^


	6. Is it over already?

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

**_Chapter 6_**

Is it over already?

The day began like every other day in the leaf village; those already awake were either going to work or opening up their shops. With the exception of a few young kids running around town trying to find some friends to play with. The blonde usually didn't mind walking around town, except for the one or two glares he'd get from the some people, everyone else usually didn't mind seeing him around. Naruto knew that they knew he was carrying a monster inside him, he just wished they didn't think he was a monster because of it. As the blonde made his way to the Hokage's his thoughts were disturbed by a very loud voice.

"NA-RU-TO!"

The blonde quickly turned his head and was met with a powerful fist that sent his crashing against a nearby wall. Naruto laid in pain as a menacing figure stood before him. The pink-haired girl looked down at him with an angry expression, cracking her hands as if she was preparing to punch him once more. The blonde just looked up at her confused, he had no idea what he had done this time and was too scared to even ask her. _'Oh great, now what's Sakura going to do to me?' _

"What's the big idea of abandoning us yesterday? You finally get something to do and you run off! You better have a good explanation!" the angry kunoichi huffed as she folded her arms, waiting impatiently for the blonde's response.

"Huh, yesterday? Oh yeah, the kid right? Well I did find-" suddenly the young ninja remembered that Inari was suppose to be kept a secret.

"You found what?" the pink-haired girl said, somewhat irritated.

"Uhh…I found…ramen! Yeah that's right! I got hungry so I decided to stop at Ichiraku's for som-"

"YOU IDIOT!" Sakura exclaimed as she punched him back into the wall. "We were suppose to look for a little girl and you decided to stuff you face!"

"I'm sorry Sakura." the blonde sniffled as he cowered before the ever-menacing kunoichi.

Sakura looked down at him and sighed, "Well I expected as much from you, but I was surprised to see that Hinata also left without telling anyone. It's not like her to just abandon a mission."

'_Oh great, now Hinata's going to get in trouble! I have to do something.' _the blonde-haired boy thought as he stood up and tried to think of what to say. "I-it wasn't her fault Sakura! I…I was on my way to Ichiraku's when I saw her and invited her to some ramen. T-then we lost track of time and forgot about our mission. It was all my fault Sakura." the blonde said as he lowered his head.

The pink-haired girl just stood in front of him, taking the information in. _'He asked her to eat some ramen with him? I wonder if that was a date? Nah, that idiot probably doesn't know Hinata likes him. Still, it seems weird that he would do that. Then again, he's always inviting people to eat ramen with him.'_

"Hey Sakura, you ok?"

"Huh, yeah I'm ok. Just don't go dragging Hinata with you next time. If this was a real mission you two would have gotten in big trouble." the kunoichi scolded.

"Yeah yeah, I gotcha. Besides, Hinata wouldn't do something like that in a real mission."

"Yeah right, you obviously don't know anything. If you were the one to ask her there's no way she could say no." Sakura mumbled, part of her wanted to say it loud enough for him to hear, maybe then he would finally get it. However, knowing him, she knew it would just confuse him, Sakura wondered if he would always be a hopeless case. The kunoichi just sighed to herself as the blonde stared at her with a puzzled look. "Anyway," she began, "we never found the little girl, and after talking to lady Tsunade about it we think this is more than just a case of a lost little girl."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it Naruto, this kid just vanished without a trace, there's obviously something going on." the blonde just gulped as he listened on, hoping they didn't find out anything. "That's why we came to the conclusion that that was no ordinary girl, but an undercover ninja trying to infiltrate the village."

"What!" the blonde exclaimed, her theory taking him by surprise.

"It's the only thing that makes sense, how else could a little girl just show up one day and disappear the next without anyone knowing. If she were really an ordinary child then the one who guards the gate would have seen her leave. They only remember seeing her come into the village in the arms of a female ninja."

"A-a female ninja?"

"That's right; apparently the little girl was injured and was taken to the hospital. The nurses say that a young female ninja was the one who brought her in. Now either that was just a regular ninja, or the little girl's accomplice, we still have to find that out. Unfortunately, they don't remember much about how the girl looked like; guess the only thing we can do is ask every female ninja. For now this case is top priority so be on the look out!"

"T-this is crazy Sakura! It was just a regular little girl; you guys are making a big deal out of nothing!" Naruto exclaimed, slightly worried about the mess they were now in.

"Oh yeah? Then explain how the dog was able to escape?"

"Dog?"

"Yes, according to the lady at the orphanage the little girl came with a puppy. Since the orphanage doesn't allow dogs, the puppy was taken to the animal shelter. When we asked the people there, no one knew what had happened to her. All they said was that they left her in a locked room and when they went to check on her, she was gone. It seems impossible that a puppy could escape a closed room; the only explanation is that the puppy was actually a person in disguise. All signs point to the two being spies, there's no other explanation."

Naruto didn't know what to say, he knew that the kid wasn't a spy, yet what they said did make sense. There would be no way to deny such a thing and still keep the kid a secret. For now, he knew it would be best to just play along with the whole thing, but there was still something that didn't seem right. It was one thing to leave the orphanage without being notice but another to be able to enter the animal shelter and leave without being noticed. The kid didn't know where they were taking the pup, so how was she able to find her and take her away. This was all very confusing for the blonde-haired boy.

"I guess you make a lot of sense Sakura, so what are you going to do now?"

"Well, Lady Tsunade told me to ask around and see if anyone knows anything. If you see any of our friends tell them what's going on ok?"

"Uh sure," the blonde said hesitantly as the medical ninja left.

He made his way towards his house as he though about what he just heard, '_It doesn't make sense. How was she able to do all that? Maybe it was to do with the weird glowing thing she did yesterday. That's it, the weird glowing, it must somehow be connected.' _the young ninja thought to himself as he ran to his house, _'I'll just have to get all the answers from her.' _Naruto made his way to his apartment only to find the door slightly opened, fearing the worst he opened the door and started searching for Inari. After searching, he found no trace of her or the puppy. He made his way outside and ran down the streets of Konoha, questions overflowing in his head, _'Where the heck did she go? Did someone find her? Did Hinata take her somewhere? Had the brat already decide to go back to the orphanage? Had old man Teuchi or maybe Ayame told someone about seeing the little girl?' _This was more than the blonde ninja could take as he searched frantically for Inari and Miyuki, _'Please let me find them before someone else does.'_

* * *

"Here you go Lady Tsunade; these are the last papers for the day."

"Thanks Shizune," the Hokage said as she signed the last page and stretched her arms out, "Well, now that I'm done I think I deserve a little treat, don't you agree? Especially since the new incident with the mysterious kid has us all on our toes."

"Of course," Shizune said as the blonde-haired hokage happily grabbed a small bottle from under her desk, "so long as it's not sake!" With that, Shizune grabbed the bottle from Tsunade's hand and marched out of the office, leaving her there to pout.

As Shizune walked down the hall, she came across a blue-haired girl who was sitting on a nearby bench. "What are you doing here Hinata? Is there something wrong?"

"Um, I came here to apologize for yesterday," the kunoichi said softly as she lowered her head, "f-for not reporting for the mission in the evening."

"Oh yeah, I was wondering what happened to you." Shizune said with a questioning look.

"W-well…you see…"

"She was busy having a date with Naruto." A pink haired girl spoke as she came into the Hyuuga's view "S-sakura!"

"A date? Now this I have to hear, spill it Hinata." the medical ninja said, nudging Hinata on the shoulder with a huge smirk on her face. The shy heiress just stood there; face completely red, and unable to form a sentence. "W-we… t-that is… I-I…"

"Naruto told me all about it," Sakura said with an evil grin, "Apparently he asked you to eat some ramen with him, and the two of you talked till you lost track of time."

"Sounds like a date to me!" Shizune added teasingly, causing Hinata's to blush even more.

"N-no, h-he was j-just being nice. H-he would n-never ask m-me out." the kunoichi added sadly, looking away from the two. Even If it was just a cover story it still hurt for her to admit that the blonde knucklehead she loved did not feel the same towards her.

"Relax Hinata, we were only teasing you." the pink-haired kunoichi assured her as Shizune nodded in agreement. The shy heiress kept her head down, trying to get rid of the embarrassment and blush on her face.

"Well anyway did you find any info on the child Hinata?"

"N-no… I wasn't able to…"

"I figured as much, this only proves our suspicions."

"Suspicions?"

"Yes, Shizune and I have been working on this case all night and have found that a few things don't add up."

"That's right; we believe that the little girl and the dog are not what they appear." Shizune added in. The two medical ninja went on to tell Hinata everything Sakura had told Naruto. Hinata could only stand there, trying to sort it all out. She couldn't believe what she was hearing; just when one problem had been solved, a new one appeared. Sakura and Shizune soon said heir goodbyes as they headed for the hospital to begin their morning rounds. Hinata didn't waste a second as she set foot out of the building, she had to find Naruto and Inari as quickly as possible and tell them everything. Making her way to Naruto's house, Hinata was rounding a corner when she came in contact with a powerful force.

"Eh, I'm so sorry I didn't-"

"No it was my-"

The two young teens found themselves at a loss for words as they stared at the person they had run into. Hinata couldn't believe it, right in front of her was the blonde-haired ninja she often found herself dreaming about. She tried to say something, but only felt his stare drawing her in as she looked into his deep blue eyes. It was all Hinata could do to keep herself from fainting as she felt her face light up and her heart tighten. Naruto on the other hand took a while to realize the situations they were in.

'_Oh man, what hit me. Huh, oh it's Hinata, guess I ran into her. Wait, her face is all red, I wonder if she's sick or something?' _the blonde thought as he looked up at the red-faced Hyuuga. _'Wait a minute… what the heck is Hinata doing on top of me!' _the blonde turned a bit red at the similar experience they had previously had. This was the second time Hinata had gotten so close to him and again he could help but be at a loss for words as he stared up at her. Being this close to a girl was something that the blonde ninja could only dream of, but this wasn't at all how he had picture it. This was Hinata after all, sure she was a nice person but it just didn't seem right. For some reason he just couldn't seem to think of her that way.

Hinata was finally able to break from his gaze as she heard him chuckle softly. Now broken from his spell Hinata blushed slightly and whispered, "S-sorry Naruto, I-I didn't seem you. I-I was just on m-my way to your house to tell you what I heard from Sakura."

"Yeah I already talked to Sakura, in fact I just went to my apartment and the brat was missing, her pup too."

"What? I-inari's gone? D-did someone capture her?"

"I dunno, but we have to find her and figure this out. Plus I want to ask her about the whole 'glowing incident'.

"Mmh," Hinata nodded in agreement.

"But before I can do anything um," Naruto said with a small blush as he scratched his right cheek, "Could you uh, get off of me first."

"Ehh?" the blue haired heiress said as she noticed she was still on top of the blonde ninja. With a small 'eep' Hinata quickly got up and apologized, her face a new shade of red. The blonde only chuckled as he looked at the shy Hyuuga, finding the whole incident quite funny and finding her reaction to be sorta cute. Part of him was surprised that he had even thought that, but it was true. Her expression, the way she got up, the whole thing was funny and cute at the same time. Naruto wondered what else he would see from Hinata as they spent more time together. The blonde-haired boy just grinned as the shy heiress tried to shake away her blush. "S-so I guess w-we better go look for her."

"Huh? Oh yeah, let's go Hinata!"

The two young ninja ran off toward the town, hoping to find the small girl, both wondering what could have happened to her.

* * *

"Huh, this place seems nice enough. Don't you agree Miyuki?" The small pup looked up at Inari and barked in agreement. After leaving Naruto's apartment, Inari's curiosity got the best of her as she looked from store to store. Wanting to know what the village had to offer her, and how different it was from her home as well as the other places she had been in. "But I wonder what kind of people live here? Hopefully they're not all ninja." the small child said with a huff.

"And what's wrong with ninja?"

Startled, Inari quickly turned towards the voice, expecting the worst but finding a young girl looking down at her questionably. "Who are you?"

"Well I just so happen to be a ninja, why? Do you have some sort of problem with ninjas?"

"You're a ninja? But you work at a flower shop? Why aren't you out doing ninja stuff?" Inari questioned as she walked into the flower shop, Miyuki following behind her.

The young kunoichi walked behind the counter and gave the small child a friendly smile. "Well this is my parent's flower shop, and I help out when I can. My name's Ino by the way, what's yours?"

"Oh uh, my name's Inari and this is my puppy Miyuki. What kid of flowers do you sell?" the small girl asked curiously. Ino smiled and led Inari around the shop, showing her all the different types of flowers and telling her what she knew about them. After an hour or so Inari decided to see what else the village had to offer her. She was just about to go into a bakery when she noticed Miyuki running towards a different direction,

"Hey Miyuki wait up! Where you going?"

The two youngsters ran until they found themselves surrounded by trees with three wooden poles in the middle of a wide clearing. As Miyuki sniffed around Inari decided to look around and see what she could find. After taking a few steps, she heard someone approaching and quickly turned her head towards the noise. Right in front of her stood two young teens in the company of a white medium sized dog. Upon further observation Inari noticed the two forehead protectors they were wearing, _'Oh great, more ninja'_ the young child thought to herself as she stared at the two boys. As she turned to leave Inari noticed Miyuki run towards the white dog and bark happily, after a few moments the two ran off towards the nearby trees and played what appeared to be tag.

"Well looks like Akamaru has just made a new friend, it's a shame though, she's a bit too young to be his mate." the young teen sighed as he watched the two dogs play.

The young man next to him just gave him a puzzled expression and headed towards the forest without so much as a word.

"Hey mister, you're friend just went that way" Inari pointed out as she made a motion towards the direction of the quiet boy.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Shino just went to collect some bugs."

'_Bugs? What a weird person.' _Inari though to herself.

"Hey kid, you're not from around her are you." the boy questioned as he looked at the small girl in front of him.

"W-what makes you think that?" Inari nervously replied.

"Well I've never seen you around town, plus you smell from around here."

"I don't smell from around here? What are you talking about?" Inari said enraged, partly feeling like the boy was insulting her.

"I'm just saying you have scents from other places, I have a pretty good nose and can tell this kind of stuff." the young ninja said proudly.

"Well what's it to you if I'm from here or not!" Inari huffed, partly worried about what the boy was going to do.

"I was just curious kid, relax. How bout we go join the dogs okay?"

"Well alright," Inari said nervously, not sure if she should trust the boy or not.

The four played for a while, having fun amongst themselves. Unaware of what was happening in town.

* * *

Ok I'm ending this right here! In my notes there's still some more but I've made yall wait long enough and since I won't be back online till next week this is my only chance to post this. So rather than make everyone wait another week I'll just end it here and add the rest at the beginning of the next chapter.

Not much else to say, I seem to be having a bit of difficulty writing these chapters.

Add that with the art I do for my deviant account, not to mention all the other stuff I'm working on.

Anyways, I'll see when I can post the next chapter.

Hopefully someone likes this story, I don't quite think I'm writing this well. Plus it doesn't seem very interesting. I hope that I can make it better.

Please comment and tell me what ya think ^w^


	7. And so the fun must end

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

**_Chapter 7_**

And so the fun must end

The four happily ran around playing tag and hide-and-seek. Only stopping when Inari accused the boy of cheating because he was able to find them so quickly. The boy then defends himself by pointing out that his ability to sniff them out was not considered cheating. Both would argue back and forth about the whole situation, neither one willing to back down. The two dogs decided to sit down and watch the scene unfold before them, both quite amused at their owner's behavior. The dispute continued for ten minutes before the young bug collector appeared before them from the nearby bushes.

Having collected all he wanted, the teen noticed the time and decided to wrap the day up. "Kiba, the sun will set soon, we should head home before it get's dark."

"Huh? Oh you're right Shino, guess we should get going." the teen turned and whistled for Akamaru. "Hey kid, you want us to take you home? Where do you live anyway?"

"N-no, I can walk home by myself." Inari nervously replied, "Let's go Miyuki!" The pup ran into her arms as the two boys watched the child leave them in a hurry.

"Hmm, what an interesting child."

"Yeah, not to mention she had Hinata's and Naruto's scents on her."

"I wonder what that could mean?"

"Who knows, but wherever that punk Naruto's involved means trouble can't be too far behind."

"Let's hope you're wrong Kiba."

* * *

"Darn it, where could this brat be? Oh when I get my hands on her-"

"I-I hope we do find her, what'll we do if she's already been found?"

The blonde-haired boy turned to see Hinata fighting back her tears. "Hey, don't worry Hinata, there's not that many people looking for her right now. You heard what Sakura said, they're just trying to find some information right now and they won't start the search till they confirm that she's still in the village."

"B-but someone's bound to see her, and when they do they'll take her and-"

"That's not going to happen! We promised to take care of her and that's just what we'll do. I don't go back on my word! Besides," the blonde grinned, "with the both of us working together there's no way we can lose."

Hinata blushed at his words, "You're r-right Naruto."

"Aww, well aren't you two just adorable!" The two ninja quickly turned their heads and noticed Ino walking towards them. "You know," The kunoichi began, "You two look really cute together. How long have you been keeping this a secret?"

The blue-haired heiress blushed intensely as Naruto looked at the two in confusion. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Oh brother, you really are clueless aren't you Naruto? However, anyways, are you two here to buy some flowers? I'll give you a discount if you buy a dozen."

"We're not here to buy flowers! And stop wasting our time Ino!"

"What was that you rude little punk!" Ino glared, "Sheesh, no wonder that little kid Inari thinks nin-"

"Inari? I-ino, did you meet a little girl today?"

"Huh? Yeah, a cute little girl with a puppy, why Hinata, do you know her?"

"O-oh, well I m-met her the other day and she uh… she dropped something so I w-wanted to give it back to her. D-do you know where she went?"

"Well I think I saw her heading that direction, but that was a few hours ago." Ino pointed out.

"T-thanks Ino."

With that, the two teens ran off, leaving Ino a bit confused. '_Hmm, I wonder why Naruto's hanging around Hinata? Maybe they really are together? I'll have to tell Sakura about this' _

* * *

"Oh great, now Ino knows about the brat, we have to find her before anyone else sees her!" Naruto grumbled, noticing his friend was not beside him, "Hey Hinata why'd you stop?"

"Well, I-I t-thought that I could use my byakugan to find her."

"Hey yeah, that could work. Great thinking Hinata!"

The shy kunoichi tried to focus as she fought back her blush. _'N-naruto's counting on me, I-I can't let him down.' _With a determined look on her face, Hinata focused her byakugan on the surrounding area. '_Let's see… she doesn't appear to be in any of the nearby shops. Maybe she's further ahead… no, I can't seem to see her anywhere.' _Hinata thought to herself, becoming more little worried as the time passed by.

"Have you found anything yet?" Naruto asked a bit hopeful.

"N-no, she doesn't appear to be anywhere near here."

"Alright, then we better go look somewhere else."

The two looked around the village, passing many shops and crowds of people. Having decided to walk so as to not arouse suspicion, the two were left to walk around the crowds at a slow pace. With every minute that passed, the two only seemed to get much tenser, both wondering if they were too late and if the girl had already been taken in. Naruto didn't think they would hurt her, but he was sure they would ask her a lot of questions, some more painful than others. The blonde wasn't sure what would happen if she were asked about her parents. Would she react the same as before? Or would she refuse to answer? Thus causing them to be more suspicious of her. Whatever the case Naruto didn't want her to be alone when it happened, she was after all only four years old. Hinata on the other hand was worried that the little girl had been taken by someone, possibly a kidnapper. Thought Konoha was a nice village it still held some bad people, every now and then a store was robbed or a person was mugged. The heiress only hoped Inari didn't end up on the wrong side of town.

"Anything to report Hinata?"

"N-no, I'm sorry Naruto," Hinata sadly said, disappointed in herself for letting Naruto down.

"Sorry? What for Hinata, you're trying your best to find her. Besides, it's not like I'm of any use right now, I don't have awesome eyes like you do. Right now, I'm pretty useless; you're the only one who can find her. So don't give up, ok?"

"O-okay Naruto." the shy heiress spoke, having newfound confidence in herself. _'I-I won't let Naruto down, I can't! He believes in me so I know I can do this!' _Focusing her byakugan the young Hyuuga widened her range as far as she could, doing her best to distinguish every person.

The two young ninja walked for three minutes before Hinata stopped and spoke. "I-I think I see her Naruto, she's over there in that alley."

Naruto looked toward the direction she was pointing, "Great job Hinata! Now let's go get her."

"W-wait, I see someone else with her."

The blonde's eyes widened, "W-what? Who is it?"

"I-I can't tell from here, but she seems to be trying to get away from the person." Hinata responded worriedly.

"Then we better hurry before something happens. Let's go!"

Not wanting to waste any time, the two proceeded to jumping from rooftop to rooftop. No longer caring if anyone would see them and suspect they were up to something. They approached the alleyway, Hinata's byakugan still activated, moments before they reached their destination Hinata grinded to a halt and spoke once more. "N-naruto, she's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?" the blonde asked in a shocked tone.

"W-well, all of a sudden she just disappeared. She's not in the alley anymore, the only one there is the one she was trying to get away from." Hinata nervously answered him.

"That doesn't make any sense! Ok then, see if you can find her anywhere nearby."

Hinata nodded and searched the area with her byakugan. It only took a few minutes before she found her. "I see her! S-she's back home."

"Huh? Really?"

"Y-yes" the young kunoichi spoke with a sigh of relief, "We better get to her quickly, who knows what could have happened to her."

The two raced back to Naruto's apartment, a small weight off their shoulders now that they knew where the child was. They opened the door to the blonde's apartment and see Inari cradling Miyuki in her arms. As they approach her, they see a scared look on her face. With out the two so much as uttering a word Inari slowly rises and runs to Hinata's arms. The blue-haired heiress tries her best to comfort the crying child as Naruto picks up the trembling puppy. After a while, Inari drifts off to sleep, leaving the two teens to mull over the events that took place throughout the day.

"So what should we do now?"

"I'm not sure; we'll have to wait until she wakes up."

The two sat down on Naruto's couch as Inari slept in the blonde's room, mind swirling with what had just happened to her. It didn't take long before she awoke with a terrified yell, causing the two teens to rush to her side.

"Hey kid, you ok?" the boy asked in a worried tone.

The blue-haired hyuuga approached the trembling child and gently laid her on her lap. Finding comfort in the young kunoichi Inari was able to calm down and inhaled deeply before she spoke. "I was… on my way home with Miyuki. I-I wanted to get home before it was dark so I ran as fast as I could through the streets. T-that's when…" Inari paused slightly, reaching out to her pup before continuing once more. "That's when I noticed someone looking at me. At first, I didn't think it meant anything, that is, until they turned around and began following me. I-I got a little scared so I tried to run the rest of the way home… but I… I didn't remember the way so I ended up running towards an alley. When I turned around I saw the man who was following me…"

* * *

"_Hey kid, are you the one who escaped from the orphanage?" the man asked as he slowly approached the girl._

"_I-I don't know who you're talking about, I'm j-just on my way home." the young child responded in a shaky tone._

"_Listen kid, I'm not going to hurt you." the man got a few step closer to her, "I just need you to come with me ok?'_

_As he got closer and closer Inari began to panic even more. 'T-this is it! There's no way to get out of it, they're going to take Miyuki away from me! No, I don't want this to happen, I-I don't want to lose anyone else!' Suddenly the man stepped away as the small girl began to glow._

"_What the? Hey just what are you doing kid?" the man reached into his pouch and pulled out a kunai, preparing himself in case the child was going to attack him._

'_No, I don't want to leave them! I know I only just met them but… they've been so kind to me.' Inari thought to herself, 'I wish I had never left his apartment, I should have listened to them. They told me not to leave but I didn't listen.' "I-I want to go back,' Inari choked out, tears overflowing form her cheeks. _

_The man before her readied himself, preparing to grab her once she stopped glowing._

"_I want to go back!" Inari yelled out in tears, "back to the apartment!" 'B-back to them, back to the people that care for me' with her final thoughts racing through her head Inari tightened her grip on her puppy. 'Please, I just want to go back!'_

_The glowing came to a halt as the man ran to the spot where the girl stood, only to see she was not there. "Where did she go?" He looked around with a confused expression. "It seems they were right, she's not an ordinary child. I'll have to report this immediately."_

* * *

Hinata and Naruto sat there on the bed, taking in what they had just heard. It was all over for them now, it had happened, she had been found. Both teens stared at each other with a worried expression.

"S-so now they know she's still here. By tomorrow I'm sure the Hokage will have a search party deployed throughout the village." Hinata said sadly.

"Well, maybe they won't search my house. I'm sure granny Tsunade won't think I'm keeping a spy in my apartment." the blonde spoke nervously.

"I-I'm sure she won't suspect you Naruto, but the ninja she sends out will probably sense her presence and come to see who is staying at your place."

"Yeah, guess you're right. I guess it's not so easy to hide someone from a whole village." the blonde sighed.

"B-but there has to be something we can do, right?" the blue-haired heiress asked hopefully.

"N-no, it's all over now. T-they know I'm here now… it's only a matter of time before they take me away." Inari chocked out, wiping away her tears. Both teens looked down sadly; they wanted to tell the child that everything would be all right. However, they knew that from that day on it was only going to be tougher for them to keep it all a secret. The end seemed to be closing in on them.

* * *

Well there you go, chapter seven!

Man it really seems like I'm losing interest in writing these chapters.

I wonder if anyone is actually enjoying them?

Oh well, comment if you can. I appreciate any comment. Even if it's anonymous 3

In addition, I'm working hard to try to come up with good drawing of what Naruto, Hinata, Inari and Miyuki look like. So hopefully next time I can show you some sketches. If anyone's interested ^w^


	8. Let's not get Caught

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

_Alright, sorry for the wait. I had a few holes in my story and I wanted everything to be thought out so there would be no room for mistakes or questions. I felt like I had to write the next chapters together. I didn't want to make any mistakes and then have to correct them on the previous chapters. In addition, this part wasn't planned so it's harder for me to come up with it. My story finally has a name. After much debating (with myself XD), I have a name. Beautiful happiness (there's a reason for the title, you'll find out eventually.) and this is book one Life's Gift. Enjoy!_

_Anyway, I tried to finish this yesterday but certain events kept me from using the computer all day. Therefore, I didn't even get to write chapter 9 like I was planning. Darn it! Too many project and things getting in the way and sadly this is what always get's put behind the rest. Nevertheless, rest assured this story will progress. Just hope not one get's bored since I don't really think much is going on right now._

_Ugh, there's so many things I want to write, but they won't show up till later! Well enough of my blabbing. Onto the story!_

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

Let's not get Caught

"The plan in simple you two, you get in and you get out. Just make sure not to get caught and everything will go off fine."

"And you're sure this will work?" the small child asked the blonde, not entirely convinced.

"Of course, it's not like they'll be waiting for ya in there. My guess is that they're discussing what to do and gathering a team to go search for more clues. That's why you have to keep your cool and not draw out suspicion." the young ninja responded.

It had taken the blonde most of the night to come up with the plan. After putting the young girl to sleep, Hinata and Naruto had decided to sit down and come up with a new plan. Now that someone had spotted Inari it was going to be that much more difficult to keep her hidden. Naruto had concluded that they were going to have to take it step by step, first gathering all the supplies the child would need. Both teens talked about what to do till it was time for the hyuuga to go home. Afterwards the blonde decided to stay up, partly so he could come up with a decision by morning and partly because he did not want to sleep in the uncomfortable couch again. Therefore, he sat on the couch, deep in thought on how they would be able to buy Inari clothes without drawing suspicion. Naruto knew that it would not be a good idea if Hinata went to the store and bought the clothes by herself. Someone was bound to notice her and there would be no logical reason for her to buy clothes for a little girl. Both teens knew that they had to be careful and think everything out carefully. Naruto wasn't used to thinking things out so much; usually the boy would just act without thinking. However, usually that ended up causing him problems, and in this situation, he couldn't afford to make a single mistake. Eventually the blonde ninja was able to come up with a plan. In the morning, when Hinata arrived, his plan would begin.

"W-well I guess it's time to go." Hinata said nervously, taking Inari by the hand and heading out the door.

"Don't worry you two, this will work!" the blonde yelled from inside his apartment, closing the door once they had left. Inside he kept his eyes on the Border collie near the door. "Hey don't worry, they'll be back soon," the boy reassured the pup, "How bout we pass the time by playing ball, okay?" with that the blonde-haired ninja grabbed Miyuki's toy ball and played catch with her. Within a few minutes, the pup was able to relax.

* * *

"W-well we're almost there," the blue-haired heiress spoke uneasily, "L-let's make sure not to make any m-mistakes."

"Right."

"Hello, welcome to Sarah's clothing store, if you need any assistance my name is Alice." the young lady at the register said as they entered the store. The two girls thanked her and proceeded to the children's section. They looked around and tried to decide of what they needed to buy.

"Ok, we should get you some shoes and some clothes for the winter. It doesn't get too cold here but you'll still need a good jacket." Hinata decided after thinking carefully about what the small child would need.

Inari nodded and the two began to look for the clothes they needed. After two hours of browsing and trying clothes on the two were finally finished. They then went to the cashier who began scanning all their clothes.

"Wow, you seem to be getting a lot of clothes." Alice told Inari, a bit surprised to see they were buying so much.

"Oh yeah, they're sending her to grandma and grandpa's house this Christmas, gotta buy her what she needs now before the prices go up." Hinata remarked with a laugh, trying her best to stay in character.

"That's right, plus if we buy everything now I get all the good stuff before everyone else gets it." Inari replied in a slight pretentious voice.

"Well that's good," the cashier said with a smile, while thinking to herself '_Darn spoiled brat, I can't go buy new outfits whenever I want! I have to work hard everyday just to pay the bills' _The young lady looked at the two customers in front of her. The oldest had light blonde hair and light blue eyes while the youngest had a darker shade of blonde hair but the same light blue eyes. They looked to be sisters. Both had regular clothes on yet they spoke as if they were a bit spoiled. Alice could only assume their parents made a good deal of money. While she scanned the last item and packed all the clothes up Hinata checked to see if she had enough money.

While being an heiress meant her family had money, it did not mean she was rich. Her father had often told her that if she ever wanted something she would have to earn the money to pay for it. Moreover, while the ninja missions she went on didn't pay so much Hinata had more than enough to pay the cashier. It was a good thing that the only thing the hyuuga wanted couldn't be purchased. Hinata paid the cashier and headed out with Inari, since they had purchased so much Hinata headed towards a deserted area and created two clones, then transformed them into tall men in uniforms.

"What are you going to do with these two?

"Well, we still have to get more things, so I'm going to send these two to Naruto's apartment."

"But won't someone notice?"

"T-that's why I made them look like delivery people, so everyone will just assume Naruto's receiving a package."

"Oh ok, so where do we go next?"

"Next is the grocery store, we'll have to get some food to last a while."

Hinata then reached for Inari's hand and lead her to the grocery store."

* * *

The day had not started out well for the blonde woman who was at her desk signing papers. All morning long her assistant, Shizune, had suffered most of the Hokage's wrath. It was bad enough that she wasn't allowed any sake, but the problems of the village just seemed to be coming back. The blonde woman longed for the last three months that seems to have passed by too fast. The three months were the village was peaceful; there were normal missions and normal problems. No threats towards the safety of the village and no attempts towards her favorite blonde boy. Yet all the peacefulness had come crashing down the day a mysterious child had arrived. The blonde Hokage silently cursed the child, who appeared to be ruining everything.

"Lady Tsunade, Sakura is here." Shizune called from the door.

"Great, let her in."

"You wanted to speak to me Lady Tsunade?" The pink haired girl said, approaching the Hokage.

"Yes, there seems to be some new information on the case of the little girl." Tsunade said with a sigh, "It seems the girl and her dog were spotted near an alley yesterday."

"So she's still here. The question is why?"

"That's what you'll have to figure out Sakura. Have you found anything new about her?"

"Unfortunately no," the medical ninja sadly responded, "The orphanage does not recall who was last with the girl. All they remember is a short-haired teenage girl. Those that treated her in the hospital say that the same girl was the one who brought the child to them."

"Do they have a better description of the girl?"

"No, they've seen so many people since then so they don't remember."

"Hmm, I see." Tsunade said as she rested her head on her hands, "So now all we know is that there are three possible suspects. A dog, a small girl, and a teenage girl. That doesn't seem to be much help."

"You're right Lady Tsunade; it seems there's not much we can do. We can't go searching for them if we don't know who to look for. It seems the only thing we can do is keep out eyes open."

"Arrgh! And here I though my job as Hokage was going to get easier now." the blonde Hokage roared out, "SHIZUNE!"

"Yes?"

"Who do we have available to work on this case?"

"Um, it seems Kurenai's team is the only team available at the moment, everyone else is out on missions."

"Good, tell them to go search for some clues. With their tracking skills, I'm sure they'll be able to find something. Sakura, you'll join Kurenai's team and help with the investigation. Now go!"

"At once Lady Tsunade!" both of the medical kunoichi said as they headed out her office.

"Ugh, it seems I'll never catch a break, darn spies." the blonde woman mumbled to herself as she searched for some sake.

* * *

"Ok, all I have to do now is go to my house and get my futon. Inari, you stay here with the food, I'll be back in a few minutes." said the young teen as she transformed back to her original self.

"A-alright."

Hinata went to her room quietly and took out the futon from her closet. As she closed her bedroom door, she noticed a figure in front of her. "Hello Hinata, where might you be going with that futon?

"Oh, N-neji I… was um…" the shy heiress fumbled through her words as she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. "A f-friend of mine n-needed a futon s-so I though I could…" she paused, looking down at the floor.

"I see." the boy said in a monotone voice, "So am I to assume you will be training with your team again today?"

"Uh, y-yes. I-I'll probably be back a-after dinner. Would you please tell my f-father?"

"Of course." he said with a slight bow and proceeded towards the end of the hall.

The blue-haired heiress just stood their looking guilty. She didn't like to lie, but she knew she had to in order to protect Inari. It wasn't that she didn't trust Neji; she just didn't want to get anyone else involved. Hinata already didn't like that Naruto had to get involved; she silently scolded herself for not being able to handle the situation on her own. Quickly shaking her thoughts away, the Hyuuga headed towards the spot where she had left Inari.

After putting her disguise on again, Hinata approached the small child and was greeted with a smile. It made the young kunoichi happy to see Inari like that. After the incident that had happened just the day before, she wasn't sure if the child was alright. "So Inari, what would you like for lunch?"

"Umm, I want to make something for everyone. Though I only know how to make sandwiches." the little girl said sadly.

"Oh that's alright Inari, sandwiches can be very delicious." Hinata said with a warm smile, making Inari look up at her happily.

The two then headed towards Naruto's home, being watchful of their surroundings, making sure not to draw suspicion.

* * *

The blonde-haired boy finished cleaning his living room when he saw a happy puppy scratch his front door. "Aww come on, don't tell me you need to go out again?" Naruto sighed as he made his way to the door, opening it to see Hinata and Inari coming down the hall with their arms full of groceries. He then went to Hinata and helped her carry some of the bags, as she seemed to be struggling to carry both the bags and the futon. The young Hyuuga blushed slightly and walked inside behind him.

"So did my stuff get here," Inari asked happily, as she gently hugged her pup Miyuki.

"Oh yeah, I even sent a clone out to buy an extra dresser. I've moved all my clothes, and all your things are in the room." Naruto said as he started unpacking the food.

"W-wow Naruto, you sure have b-been busy since we left."

"Yeah, you've cleaned your whole apartment."

"Hey what are you two saying, that I'm not capable of keeping my apartment clean?" Naruto said grumpily.

"Well your place didn't look like it had ever been cleaned when I first got here." Inari answered matter-of-factly.

The blonde looked angrily at the small child, who looked back at him with a '_You know I'm right' _look on her face. They were just about to begin their all too familiar dispute of who was right when the shy kunoichi intervened.

"Umm, m-maybe we should g-get lunch ready." Hinata said twiddling her fingers.

"Oh yeah," Inari said, suddenly remembering what she had said earlier, "I'm going to make lunch today!"

"You?" Naruto asked with a puzzled expression. "What can you make?"

"Well I… can only make sandwiches…" Inari said quietly, thinking the boy would prefer his favorite food instead. Since she had lived with him, they hadn't been able to eat much with all the problems going on. Feeling a bit guilty for causing all the mess, the little girl felt she should contribute somehow. However, after seeing the blonde's reaction, Inari started regretting her idea.

"Sandwiches eh? Sounds good." Naruto said with a grin. Inari looked up at him and smiled as she made her way to the kitchen.

"W-well, I'm going to go put the futon and Inari's clothes away." Hinata said quietly as Miyuki followed behind her.

Inari began gathering the necessary ingredients when she noticed the blonde boy peering from her side. "So," the boy began, "What kind of sandwiches are you going to make?"

"Um, I'm not sure." the small child said nervously.

"Well then, how about I help you make them?" Naruto said happily. Inari agreed and they both went on to make lunch for them all. When they were done, they all sat down and ate their food.

* * *

"Hey Shino, have you seen Hinata lately."

"No Kiba, I haven't seen her for about four days."

"Yeah, me either. I wonder if it has to do with the kid we say yesterday and that blockhead Naruto."

"Hey guys!," the medical ninja called out as she approached them, "We need your help for an investigation."

"An investigation?" Kiba questioned while Shino looked on with interest.

"Yes," Shizune said as she came up behind Sakura, "We will tell you all about it when your team is together. Where's Hinata?"

"We don't know, she's probably at home." Shino said in a monotonous voice.

"Alright then, let's go get her. We have an important investigation to begin!" the pink-haired kunoichi said with a slight edgy voice.

Shino, Kiba, Akamaru and Shizune followed behind her as she walked towards the Hyuuga compound. As they got there, they ran into Neji who was on his way out. Kiba was the first to speak. "Hey Neji, is Hinata home?"

"Hinata? She told me she was going to be training with you and Shino until late." the male Hyuuga said calmly, hiding his slight confusion and worry.

"Hmm, that's odd. Maybe we should go see if she's there right now." Shizune spoke in as she looked at Sakura.

"Urrr, then let's go see if she's there." The pink-haired teen said in a huff, slightly irritated at having to run around trying to find Hinata. It was like being in a wild goose chase. Shizune followed behind as Shino and Kiba stayed behind with Neji.

"I will be training with my team all day, if you cannot find her please let me know." With that, Team 8 nodded at heading towards the training area while Neji headed a different direction. When they finally got to the area, Sakura met them with an angry glare.

"What took you guys so long?"

"We were talking to Neji, sheesh."

"Well it seems Hinata isn't here either," Shizune pointed out, "So we'll just have to do the investigation without her."

"That's right; we don't have time to go looking for her so you two will have to do." Sakura said now calming down.

'_What does she mean we'll have to do?' _Kiba wondered.

"Now this is something we must keep secret till we have evidence to confirm out suspicions." Sakura said in a whispering tone, making Shino and Kiba move closer to her to hear. "We have suspicion to believe that there are some spies in Konoha. About 3 days ago a little girl came in with a puppy." The two teen boys tensed a bit. "After putting her in the orphanage and putting her puppy in the pound the two managed to escape. Therefore, we suspect they are really ninja in disguise. In addition, we seem to believe that they have an accomplice who looks like a teenage girl. So today we will go to the places they have been seen."

"Hmm, seems like it's just a case of an ordinary girl and her puppy." Kiba said with little interest.

"Well yes, it may seem like we're making big deal out of nothing. However, we had a witness yesterday who tried to bring the little girl in. He told us that there was a flash of light and then the child disappeared, so we have to know who that child is. We don't want to endanger the village with possible spies. We have to bring them in an interrogate them" Shizune spoke out.

"Interrogate a child? That doesn't seem right. Besides, how are you going to interrogate a puppy?" Kiba pointed out.

"We'll worry about that when we find the child. Now are you two going to help us or not!" Sakura screamed, having now lost all her patience. "Let's go!" Once again, Sakura walked off with Shizune following behind her, leaving Team 8 to their thoughts.

"So what do you think Shino? Do you think that kid is the same kid we met?"

"It's seems highly possible."

"Do you think we should go find Hinata and see if she knows anything about this?"

"No"

"What? Why not? Someone has to tell her what's going on?"

"She must already know, what else could explain her disappearance and the fact she told Neji she would be with us."

"You're right, so then, should we go help her with this?"

"No, she'll come to us if she wants our help. For now we should just try not to lead them to her."

With that, the two nodded and went to look for Sakura before she scolded them. The two boys were worried for their friend but trusted her to know what she was doing. Kiba worried that Naruto was the one behind this and that somehow he had gotten Hinata involved. The dog boy prepared to pound the blonde if his suspicions turned out to be true.

* * *

"You want me to what?"

"I want you to try doing that thing you did in the alley." Naruto answered.

"B-but, I don't even know what I did."

"W-well, maybe it has something to do w-with that the glowing thing you did that one time." Hinata pointed out.

"Yeah, and that time Sakura said you went into the pound and got Miyuki out without anyone seeing you. You must have done it there too. Just try to remember what you did those times and see if you can do it now." Naruto urged Inari.

"B-but… I-I don't think I can do it just like that." Inari gloomily confessed.

"That's why we're going to help you. If there's anyone that knows about learning something difficult it's me."

"N-naruto's right Inari, if anyone can help you he can. He's a s-strong ninja and he never gives up." Hinata shyly added, earning a grin from he favorite blonde. "I-I'll do what I can to help you too."

Miyuki barked in agreement. "T-thanks you guys." Inari said with a smile, "Alright then, let's do this!"

* * *

All right everyone, I wanted to end it there or I would never finish this in time to post it. Didn't think there would be so much to write in this chapter. Had to cover a few things so there would be no room for questions. I'm trying hard not to make someone think "hey, this part doesn't make sense" or "wait how come they're not doing this"

Trying to make this as good as I can is making it even harder for me. Since I now have to write about what sakura and the others are doing.

Kinda mad that I wasn't able to write it all in this chapter. Had to cut it right when _ oops can't say anything.

I'll just say that I've been waiting to write this one part since like chapter 5 or so. Therefore, you can understand why I'm a bit angry that I didn't get to write it in time. And sadly you guys won't be able to see it til after Easter. Won't be able to be online till after. So sad TT TT

Anyways…

I wonder if I made shino talk too much. Don't really know much about him so I can't say I know how he acts or talks. But I think he would be the type to not butt in into people's lives. Right? Or am I wrong?

Anyway I hope you enjoyed. Comment if you can!

What did you think about the part where Inari and Hinata had to dress up as blonde haired spoiled girls. I liked how I made Hinata act. Imagined her talking like that and it made me laugh XD.


	9. Hidden Ability

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

_Well I am back with a new chapter. Took me long enough huh. XD_

_First off, I would like to say thanks to everyone who has commented and enjoyed this story of mine. Your support helps me a lot! I will try not to disappoint anyone and do the best I can with this story. I hope that I can improve as time goes by. Please continue to give me your support and any comments (good or bad) are appreciated. This story is becoming harder and harder to write, at least part one. I'm getting so many ideas for part two right now. Wish me luck, I will need it ._

_Advanced apologies for the delays. Writing isn't so simple anymore (maybe I lost my inspiration?)_

* * *

**_Chapter 9_**

Hidden Ability

"Alright guys, first we have the orphanage. Let's split up and see what we can find. Shizune and I will ask the kids if they know anything. You two look around the place and see if you find any trace of them. We'll meet back here in two hours. Dismissed!" Sakura commanded as she made her way inside the orphanage.

"So Shino, what should we do now? We can't do anything that will lead them to Hinata."

"Simple. We look for clues. And if we find any, we get rid of them so no one else can find them."

"Heh, that's a pretty good idea. Alright Akamaru, let's get to work!" Kiba said with an enthusiastic trust of his left hand. Akamaru barked in agreement and started sniffing the area.

* * *

"Alright kid, let's start off by trying to figure out what ability you have." Naruto said to the small child. The energetic blonde sat on the couch with Hinata as Inari stood in front of them in thought.

"Well…what am I suppose to do first?"

"Uh, well…" Naruto looked at the blue-haired heiress for help. "Hinata?"

"Umm, I think if w-we went over what happened at the alley, we might be able to figure out what happened."

"Right, we know there was a man chasing you and you managed to escape, but try to remember what you did at the time."

"O-okay…" Inari closed her eyes and focused on the previous day's events. The small child tried her best to recall everything that happened. "W-well, I remember getting really scared as the man approached me. All I could think of was what would happen if I were caught. I was so scared I couldn't move at all, so I closed my eyes and before I knew it I was here." Inari paused in thought. "Does that mean that I can somehow go from one place to another?"

"Looks like it; it must be some kind of teleporting ability. We just have to find out the trigger." The blonde boy pondered.

"Trigger?" Hinata softly asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said, turning towards the shy Hyuuga, "It's what sets off her ability to teleport, something happened in the alley that made her set it off. The question is, what's the trigger to her ability?" the blonde pondered. "Hey kid, what was going through your head before you left the alley?"

"Huh? I just told you, I was scared. So scared that I closed my eyes and held Miyuki close to me. All that came into my head was the thoughts of what they would do to me once they caught me. My fears just kept getting worse and worse, I couldn't take it anymore. I started crying, wishing I never set foot outside the apartment. As the man got closer I cried even more, I just didn't want them to take me away from-" Suddenly the little girl opened her eyes in realization.

"W-what's wrong?" Hinata asked worriedly. Naruto reached out to the child and wiped away a tear from her cheek, making Inari realize she had started crying. Looking up at Hinata and Naruto, whose faces were lined with concern, Inari took a deep breath and continued.

"I… I remember feeling scared that they we're going to take Miyuki away from me, and I started crying even more. I Just wanted to get away from there so badly, then I… I started feeling warm inside."

"Warm inside?" the blonde asked, "Have you ever felt like that before?"

"Uh, I-I thinking I have, back when I left the orphanage to get Miyuki." Inari brought her had up in thought. "At that time I was sitting down with Hinata at the orphanage, and I kept thinking about Miyuki. I wanted to go get her, so I…I closed my eyes and…" the small child paused.

"What? What happened then?" the blonde boy asked.

"Well, I'm not sure…I thought it had all been a dream but…when I opened my eyes, I found myself in the pound. Outside the door where Miyuki was."

"S-so then, m-maybe something you did at the orphanage you did at the alley as well."

"Yeah, I'm sure you can find the answer if you think carefully." Naruto added in.

"Right! Let's see…" Inari said, concentrating on the task given to her. "Both of the times I was worried, worried and scared because… because I was being taken away. First they took me away from Miyuki and then they were going to take me away from you two," Inari felt a few tears run down her cheek, "I just could let them do that, not after I lost my parents and my home." The small child looked up at Hinata and Naruto, "I-I wasn't going to let them take me, so I… I began to cry, wishing I were back at the apartment where you two would be. My thoughts were just on getting back home to you two," Inari wiped away her tears and was surprised to find herself in the arms of someone. What surprised her most was who it was; it was Naruto. The blonde-haired boy had wrapped his arms around the little girl in an effort to comfort her. Hinata looked at the two in front of her, a warm smile escaping her.

"I see…" Naruto slowly let go of Inari, wiping away a stray tear from her face. "It seems fear is your trigger, though I'm not sure it's a good idea to scare you just so you can learn how to use your ability."

"W-well, m-maybe she could just try to remember how she was feeling in the alley and concentrate on a place. M-maybe that would work" Hinata said as Miyuki barked in agreement.

"Worth a shot, what do you think squirt?"

"Well I guess I could try," Inari responded, closing her eyes trying to remember her experience at the alley. _'Alright, now focus. Remember the fear, and focus on a place., _the small child though to herself.

Her first attempt was a fail, and so were the next three tries. It seemed a lot harder than the three had thought. With all the attempts, the young girl wasn't even able to glow or fade at all. _'Come on!' _Inari told herself,_ 'I have to get this; otherwise the next time someone finds me I might not be so lucky. I can't let them do everything; I have to help them keep me a secret, I… I don't want to leave them!' _It surprised Inari how much she had taken to the two teens. It had only been a few days since they had met, but Inari had already gotten attached to them. Hinata and Naruto watched as she tried once more.

After focusing her mind and trying her best to concentrate on a location, Inari began to feel warm inside. _'I-it's working!' _Inari excitedly thought to herself, carefully making sure not to break her concentration. Moments later the young girl slowly started to fade, only to wind up reappearing seconds later.

"Wow, you almost got it that time!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully.

"Y-yes, maybe we should take a break for today and try again tomorrow." Hinata said softly.

"No way, I'm not going to stop until I get this," Inari said, looking up at the two with a determined look.

Hinata found herself smiling at that, thoughts going back to the days when she would watch a young ninja train by himself. No one saw how hard he worked; no one saw how he never gave up. Looking at Inari and then at Naruto, Hinata could see a few similarities between them. It was no wonder that they often bumped heads with one another. They both seemed to be so headstrong.

Naruto found himself grinning proudly at the child. He was proud at her for trying so hard, given that she was so young it was understandable that she was having such a had time. It seemed that her ability, for the moment, would only work in cases of extreme distress. It reminded the blonde of the time he had learned how to use the kyuubi's chakra. In his case, he was thrown into a deep chasm, had he not succeeded in using the foxes' chakra he would have not been here to tell the tale. The hyperactive teen chuckled; it seemed he had underestimated the kid. She actually did have some good points.

"Alright, this time it'll work for sure," Inari announced, focusing on the couch beside her. After glowing slightly Inari began to feel dizzy, _'N-no, I can't stop now, I'm so close.' _Concentrating as hard as she could Inari began to glow even brighter. Naruto and Hinata looked on as the small child faded away, moments later the blonde-haired boy was met with a surprise as he fell to the floor.

"ACK!"

"N-naruto!"

"S-sorry," Inari said, getting up from atop the blonde boy.

The young ninja quickly got up from the floor and pointed angrily at the child before him, "What the heck was that!"

"I'm sorry," Inari said nervously, "I was trying to move to the couch and I guess I wasn't able to get that… far-" Suddenly the small child collapsed on the floor, exhausted after all the previous attempts.

"Inari!" they both exclaimed, rushing to the girl's side. After Hinata checked her over, she saw that the child only appeared to be asleep. With a sigh of relief, the two ninjas laid her on the couch and waited for her to regain consciousness. Miyuki stayed at her side.

* * *

"Unbelievable!" the pink-haired kunoichi exclaimed in frustration. "Not one single person in this whole orphanage can tell me anything about the girl!"

"Well it's not very likely any will know anything Sakura. After all, she wasn't here long before she escaped." Shizune pointed out.

"Yeah but still, it's frustrating that we haven't been able to find anything. I wonder if the boys were any luckier than us."

"Hey Sakura, were you two able to find anything?' Kiba asked nervously, hoping no one discovered Hinata's involvement in the case.

"Nope, how about you guys?" the medical ninja sighed.

"We have nothing, it is probably best if we go to the next place." Shino added calmly.

The pink-haired girl nodded in agreement, as she headed for their next destination with Shizune following behind her. Kiba turned to Shino and let out a sigh of relief.

"So did you find anything Shino?"

"Just one thing, my bugs were able to get rid of it with not problem."

"Yeah me too. Now all that's left is the pound and the hospital. Let's go" Kiba said with a motion of his arm. Akamaru and Shino followed behind him.

* * *

'_I… I did it, mom I… I was able to do it.' _

"L-look Naruto, I-I think she's waking up."

"Yeah, hey kid!" the blonde gently lifted the child from Hinata's lap. "Enough sleeping, we need to celebrate!" Slowly the blonde boy began spinning the small girl around excitedly, Hinata watching happily form the couch. Miyuki ran circles around the two, all the while Inari tried to understand what was going on.

"Celebrate? Celebrate what?"

"Well you managed to teleport, sure it wasn't far but it's a start." Naruto grinned as he placed Inari back on solid ground.

"T-that's right, with a little more practice I'm sure you'll be able to teleport even farther." Hinata said cheerfully.

"You think?" Inari mumbled, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Yeah I think- ack!" Naruto was surprised yet again by the little girl. This time however, the child appeared in front of him instead of above, being caught in time by the blonde.

Inari giggled in triumph, flashing the two teens a victory sign. "Hehe, guess I am getting better."

"Heh, you little brat. You did that on purpose." Naruto chuckled.

With a grin, Inari closed her eyes once more and disappeared, this time appearing on the kitchen counter.

"Alright, now we really need to celebrate!" the blonde thrust his arm in the air. "We should have a victory dinner!" he said looking at the time, seeing it was already six 'o' clock at night.

"Yeah!" Inari said, climbing down the counter. "I'm starving."

"What would you like to eat?"

"Umm," the tiny child said as she looked from Hinata to Naruto, with a smile she responded, "Ramen."

"S-sounds g-good to me." the shy Hyuuga said, turning to Naruto.

The blonde-haired boy stood there in stunned silence, worrying the two girls before breaking out in a huge smile. "Sounds like a plan to me! We'll go to Ichiraku's and get some ramen, you stay here and rest." Full of joy the boy grabbed the shy Hyuuga's hand and lead her out of the apartment. "Come on Hinata!" Unable to respond or even think, the blue-haired heiress was dragged out; her face a bright shade of red.

With a sly grin, Inari shut the door behind them and took a nap on the futon Hinata had laid out for Naruto. Miyuki joined her with a wag of her tail.

* * *

"Ugh, this can't be happening," the young looking Hokage sighed, taking a sip from her sake.

"I'm afraid so, it seems we were unable to find out a single thing about the little girl." Shizune said, looking over the file, "What do you think we should do now lady Tsunade?"

"There's not much we can do, it seems we have no choice but to close the case and keep a look out just incase anyone spots her again."

"Lady Tsunade, you can't just close the case!" the pink-haired kunoichi yelled, "We can't let these people walk around our village; our town could be in danger!"

"We have no other choice Sakura, it's not like we can just barge into everyone's home and look for the culprits. I don't want to worry the villagers, we must keep the peace. If people start suspecting one another then it could spell disaster, and that could be the spies plan."

"I… you may be right, but we can't just close the case." Sakura added silently.

"Don't worry; we're still going to send you around the village with Team 8. It will be up to the four of you to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. I trust you can handle the case?" Tsunade said with a smirk.

"Yes ma'am!" With a small salute, the young kunoichi left the Hokage's office. _'Alright, I can do this,' _Sakura thought to herself, determined to catch the spies and prove her worth.

_'I'll show them I'm not the same weak girl I used to be.'_

_

* * *

_

"W-wait up N-naruto." the shy heiress called out to the eager blonde who was two blocks ahead of her.

"Huh, oh sorry Hinata," Naruto said sheepishly, stopping to wait on the Hyuuga.

"I-it's o-okay, It's m-my fault for being so s-slow." Hinata replied nervously, having caught his gaze. It seemed impossible for her not to blush and feel weak-kneed whenever he looked at her.

"Nah, I was just going to fast. Come on, we better go before there's a line."

"Y-yes."

When the two teens arrived at the ramen shop, they were fortunate enough not to find a line of customers. Excitedly Naruto greeted Ayame and Teuchi before telling them his order. Afterwards the two decide to sit by the counter and wait for their orders.

"Wow Naruto, you ordered more food than usual." Ayame said turning to Hinata, "Are you sure you and your girlfriend can eat it all?"

"No problem, we can eat this all-… wait w-what?" Naruto asked as he turned to the shy kunoichi beside him, "M-my girlfriend?'

'_N-naruto's g-girlfriend,' _the young Hyuuga began swooning, _'N-n-no way, w-we're j-just friends, r-right?'_

"Yes, she's your girlfriend isn't she?' Ayame questioned, "That's why you two are out on a date right?"

"Eh, n-no you got it all wrong Ayame," the blonde boy said nervously, a small blush on his cheeks. "Hinata is just a friend."

"Oh yeah, then why are you two here together?" Ayame said with a grin.

"We um… that's cause…" the blonde nervously looked at Hinata for help.

"Um… w-we just happened to run into each other a-and," the shy kunoichi shifted uncomfortably from her seat, "I-I invited him to eat ramen w-with me."

"Yeah right, you two can't fool me. What about the other day when you two ate ramen together?" Ayame said smugly. "Then again, I think there was someone else with you guys."

"Uh n-no there wasn't," Naruto waved his arms in front of him, "Just me and Hinata were there."

"Oh yeah? So then it was a date, just like today?" Ayame said cheekily.

"NO! Sheesh, can't two people hang out together without someone saying it's a date?" the blonde huffed.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I'll leave you two alone then."

Ayame left the two teens in silence. Both Hinata and Naruto sat in their seats, an awkward feeling between them.

"S-sorry about that Hinata, she likes to play around like that with me."

"I-it's okay, but um… why did you say Inari wasn't with us the other day?"

"Oh well, I thought it would be best if no one knows about her. I hope that Ino forgets about her too. It's dangerous to get more people involved so we have to make sure no one finds out. Not even our closest friends."

"T-that makes sense."

"Heh, I'm not as dumb as people think." Naruto grinned.

"O-of course not… I-i've always know you were smart, and s-strong, and a g-great person." Hinata whispered.

"Huh, what'd you say Hinata? I couldn't hear you." the blonde moved closer to the heiress, his face only an inch away from hers.

"I… I…" the young Hyuuga's eyes widened as her face turned a deep crimson, _'N-naruto's too c-close to me, I-I can't…I can't…_'

"Hey, are you okay? Do you feel sick?" concerned the boy put his hand on the girl's forehead to check her temperature. "You seem fine, what's wrong Hinata?"

The poor blue-haired girl could only struggle to keep herself conscious, 'h-he's t-touching me,' looking into his blue eyes was all it took for her to lose all consciousness.

"W-what the-! Hinata!" Naruto quickly caught the girl in his arms; unfortunately, the boy lost balance in the process and fell to the floor. "Ow," the blonde mumbled, his right hand coming up to rub his head. "Hey Hinata are you okay? Huh, this seems familiar." The young boy looked up to see the shy heiress fainted on top of him; memories of the previous day came into his mind. '_Man, seems like this is happening a lot lately. I wonder if it's cause of the brat. Maybe all this is stressing her out. Poor Hinata.' _Without realizing it, the boy gently stroked the girls head, causing her to wake.

"N-naruto?" the blue-haired girl said with a blush.

"Huh, Hinata?" Naruto looked up at the shy girl, a small warmth crossing his cheeks. "Heh, sorry, I was trying to catch you and ended up falling down too."

"N-no, it's m-my fault. Thanks Naruto." Hinata said with a smile.

"Um… don't mention it." Slowly the two teens got up and sat back up on their stools. The awkward silence engulfing them once more.

"Here's your order Naruto, make sure not to eat it all. Otherwise what will your girlfriend eat?" Ayame teased.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"Uh huh." the young girl rolled her eyes.

"IT'S TRUE!"

"Riiight."

"Umm…N-naruto's right, I'm not his girlfriend."

"Suuuuure," Ayame handed Naruto his order, "So then, what was that look on your face when she was on top of you?"

Both teens blushed intensely. Hinata stood there, hands close to her face, unable to speak. Naruto, on the other hand, looked nervously at the shy Hyuuga and the young girl teasing him. "I…uh…you see…" the blonde struggled to find his voice.

"Yes? I'm all ears Naruto."

"N-naruto?" the shy heiress looked at the nervous blonde. She knew that the fall was an accident and the situation had been embarrassing. What she did not understand was why the young boy seemed so nervous. Before she could think about it, she felt something pulling on her hand.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm pretty hungry. Let's go Hinata." the blonde pulled her away as he turned to the restaurant owner and his daughter, "See you guys later!"

* * *

A figure walks through town and comes across an unusual scene. A blonde-haired boy is running away from a ramen shop, pulling along a flustered blue-haired girl.

"What's this?" the figure asks in a confused voice. "So this is where she's been all day, with _him_? I wonder where they're going, and why they're together." the figured walked onward, "I suspect there's more than meets the eyes with those two. No doubt they're hiding something." Turning a corner the figure's tone turned very cold, "It seems Hinata will have to explain some things to me."

* * *

Oh man, this is just so long. I kept trying to warp up the chapter, but every time I sat down and wrote the scene just kept taking longer and longer. I though it would never end!

So I was re-reading the previous chapters, making sure I didn't miss something that happened before. And I seem to have gotten a bit more motivation. After reading chapter 6, where I wrote a cute scene with Naruto and Hinata (not sure if you guys liked it that much but I couldn't help but love it)

Anyways, after reading it I suddenly wanted to write more chapters so I could get to other fluffy moments.

Sadly, I think the motivation is going fast L

Also, I'm not sure if yall have noticed, but only four days have gone by. Man, four days in nine chapters? These days are getting too long.

I'll have to fix that in the future so the days go by faster ^^;


	10. A change for the better!

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

_It's been a busy month. New art to draw, new art to see and new fanfics to read. Right now, I've just been watching the newest Naruto Shippuden episodes. ^w^ hopefully they can inspire me to write more. Wish me luck and comment if you want._

_(wrote this a week ago) On a side note, I just read the latest chapter of Naruto and it seems the dead have come back to life. So I ask myself, "does that mean Hinata could have died but then come back to life?" if so then she was never in any danger. Whether she had died or not. That makes me wonder how differently Naruto would have reacted if she had died. Then how would he have reacted if he then saw that she came back to life. Hmm, I think it would have been interesting to see that scenario play out._

_(Today) Just read the newest chapter and I couldn't help but cry! I cried so much. Even now I'm crying a little. But they're tears of joy 3 The village has finally acknowledged Naruto! J I can't believe it finally happened! I'm so happy for him *sniffle* it's about time they acknowledged what a great guy he is *cries some more*_

_Sorry I'm the kind of person who cries very easily ^^; but , am I the only one who cried when they read the newest chapter? Yeah, I probably am XD_

_Oh well, on to the newest chapter!_

* * *

_**Chapter 10 **_

A change for the better!

The walk back to his apartment was as uncomfortable as it had been in the ramen shop. Naruto was unable to think about anything but getting back home as soon as possible. In turn, he failed to notice a crucial detail. _'Man, I can't believe that Ayame,' _the blonde huffed, '_Why does she always have to pick on me like that? I mean, usually I don't mind when I'm there alone, but…' _the boy paused in thought, trying to catch a quick glance at his friend. His young friend appeared to be looking at the ground, silent as always. _'Darn her, saying all that stuff about Hinata being my girlfriend. Seriously, who could even think that? That's got to be one of the craziest things someone could say. Me and Hinata. Hmph! Yeah right…' _The blonde looked down sadly, _'The only reason Hinata is even here with me is because of the kid, otherwise….' _Naruto knew that if it weren't for the kid, things would be different. Just like before he would be, all alone. Sure, he would still have his friends, and he was sure he'd see Hinata around but… things would not be like they were now. The boy shook away his thoughts, now was not the time to think of depressing things. "Umm… Hinata?"

"Uh, y-yes?"

"S-sorry about Ayame, she likes to joke around with me when I go eat there."

"I-it's ok Naruto."

"R-really?" The blonde stopped walking and turned to the girl, "You're not upset or anything?" The shy Hyuuga looked up at the boy and blushed, shaking her head. A huge smile overtook the blonde's face, "That's great; you know you're really different from Sakura. She would have probably caused a scene and stormed out. Heh, guess it's a good thing it wasn't her huh?" Naruto grinned, while the pink-haired girl was his friend she was known to be temperamental, especially when he was involved.

"W-well, I'm s-sure she's much b-better company than me. Y-you'd probably be happier if she was here instead of me," Hinata was happy to be spending time with the blonde, but she was well aware of the boy's feelings towards his teammate. Even if they did seem to argue a lot, it was clear to her that they were close friends. She on the other had hardly even said a word to him, always looking away and blushing. She was sure he was only putting up with her because of Inari.

"Who, Sakura?" the boy turned away and started walking once more, "Well we are good friends, and on the rare times we aren't fighting I do enjoy hanging out with her but…" Naruto sighed, thoughts going to past events.

"N-naruto?" Hinata became concerned, suddenly regretting she had said anything.

"Sorry but, could we change the subject?" the boy said despondently.

"O-of course, I'm sorry."

"Sorry Hinata, it's just-" the blonde stopped dead in his tracks. He had turned to assure his blue-haired friend that everything was okay when he noticed something he had not seen before. "…H-hinata, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

The teen looked at the girl nervously, "Um… h-how long have w-we been walking like this?"

"Huh?" the shy girl looked at what the boy was referring to, "Oh umm, I-I'm n-not sure." The girl lied, she knew.

Both teens looked down at their hands and then at each other. A very faint blush was on Naruto while Hinata sported a darker shade. It seemed that since their departure from Ichiraku's, where Naruto had dragged Hinata away, the blonde had failed to let go of the girl's hand. All the while Hinata had been quite aware of it, finding herself in a world of bliss. She was sure she would remember this day for the rest of her life. His hand, his warm hand. The Hyuuga was surprised she had not fainted after the first minute. Even now, she basked in the feeling of his hand entwined with hers.

Naruto looked at the two joined hands. It was hard to believe he had not noticed it sooner. He supposed that he had been too upset about the scene with Ayame to notice he hadn't let go of her hand. Part of him wondered why Hinata had not noticed sooner. _'Maybe she had but didn't say anything. Nah, if she had she would have pulled her hand away. Still, you'd think she's noticed someone pulling her down the street,' _the blonde chuckled. _'Guess that's Hinata for you!' _

"N-naruto?" the blue-haired teen looked at the blonde boy, confused by his laughter.

"Huh? Oh sorry, we better get going before the ramen gets cold." Naruto turned and began walking towards his apartment, only to stop a few steps later. The boy turned to the kunoichi and looked at their hands once more. His eyes widened when he noticed they were still joined. Naruto looked up at Hinata, who seemed to be in a world of her own. "H-hinata."

"Hmm?"

"I'm uh…" the boy coughed, "I'm s-still holding your hand."

"Oh um…" Hinata looked up at their hands with a small smile, "I-it would appear so."

"Y-you um..." the boy coughed once more, "you didn't notice?"

"Umm, w-well…" Hinata trailed off, not wanting to lie to the boy again. As a Hyuuga, she was often told never to lie and always speak the truth. Hinata was never one to lie, but whenever she was with the blonde boy, she often found herself unable to tell the truth. Fear of rejection and fear of him thinking badly of her always left her unable to say much.

"Well I guess I forgot as well," the boy nervously laughed. Still holding the girl's hand the boy found himself unable to let go. While he had been holding her hand for a while now he hadn't actually been aware of it. Now fully aware, the boy found himself feeling a bit strange. The blonde enjoyed the feeling. Part of him, a small part, almost didn't want to let go of the girl's hand. Once again, he was doing something he never thought he'd do with a girl, and once again, it was with Hinata. Her hand was so soft and warm; Naruto found himself grinning, wondering if all girls' hands felt this pleasant. Noticing Hinata staring at him the boy blushed slightly and pulled his hand away from hers. "S-sorry, I-I didn't mean to hold your hand all this time."

"I-I know, I-it's ok Naruto." the shy heiress smiled slightly at the boy, a part of her sad that his hand was no longer holding hers. When the blonde turned and began walking again, the young girl lifted her hand to her chest and smiled. The warmth from his hand was still present on hers.

Naruto sighed quietly to himself, already missing the warm contact. _'Ugh, that's probably the only time I'll ever hold a girl's hand' _the boy hung his head in disappointment. Yet again something he had to blame the Kyuubi for. If it wasn't for the demon that was sealed inside him, the boy would probably have more friends rather than be hated by most of the village. Then maybe he'd be able to find a girl to like him.

The rest of the walk was in complete silence, both teens off in their own thoughts. They arrived at the apartment and were surprised when they entered the blonde's home to find complete silence.

"H-hello?' Hinata spoke quietly, "I-is anyone here?" The young Hyuuga turned to the blonde, a look of confusion present. With a shrug the boy walked towards the kitchen, Hinata followed behind him.

"Alright, ramen time!" After putting most of the ramen in the kitchen, Naruto heads towards the living room with a bowl of ramen in his hand. "What th-?" the boy stops and looks at the scene before him. Chuckling a bit, the boy kneels before the tiny figure. "Well it seems the kid won't be eating any ramen after all. Guess we'll be the only ones eating tonight Hinata."

"Think again, dummy."

"Huh," the blonde looked down at his now empty hands before looking up at the ramen thief. "Hey I thought you were asleep!"

"I was, but you woke me up with your yelling." Inari said with a grin, "Thanks for the ramen." the small girl held up the bowl of ramen she took from the blonde.

"Why you no good-" the blonde was ready to unleash his fury on the child when a bowl was placed in front of his face. He looked up to see Hinata handing him a bowl of ramen.

"H-here you go N-naruto," the shy kunoichi said with a smile.

"Oh, thanks Hinata." the blonde replied with a grin, "If only certain brats could learn to be as nice as you." the boy angrily stared at the child beside him. Inari stuck out her tongue in reply. "Alright then, let's all dig in!"

The three of them sat on the couch and ate their fill. In the end, only one bowl was left. The blonde finished his bowl and reached out for the remaining one. A small pair of hands reached out at the same time. Without hesitation, the boy swiped the bowl away and held it above his head, a grin plastered on his face.

"Hey no fair!" Inari huffed, reaching her small arms out and jumping up in an effort to reach the bowl.

"He he, you're too slow kid. Looks like I get the last bowl."

"No way!" the little girl turned to her pup, "Miyuki!"

With an angry bark, the small pup leaped up from the couch and bit the blonde boy in his lower back. Naruto yelled out in pain, but still kept a firm grip on the ramen bowl. "Nice try brat, but you aren't getting this bowl."

"Meanie! How am I suppose to grow big and strong if you won't let me eat!"

"Then go eat something else, cause you aren't going to get this bowl!"

"Whatever, I guess you need that bowl more than I do," Inari grumbled, "seeing as you're so short!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!"

"You heard me!" Inari grinned, "Look at you, you're shorter than she is," the child pointed over to Hinata. The young kunoichi had just finished cleaning up after them and was making her way back into the living room. She looked up at the two in confusion, wondering why they were pointing and staring at her.

Naruto walked over and stood next to the blue-haired girl, trying to compare their heights. It was true that he was a little on the short side, but he was still growing wasn't he? It's not like he was going to be short all his life, right? He noticed Hinata was staring at him and started to panic. Was she also noticing how short he was? Was she really taller than he was? In an effort to differ their attention from him, the blonde quickly turned their attention to someone else. "Well I wouldn't be talking about short people, seeing as you are almost the same height as Miyuki."

"N-no I'm not!" Inari exclaimed, "Besides, I'm just a little kid. I'm supposed to be short!"

"Guess you're right there shrimp." Naruto grinned, ruffling Inari's hair.

"SHRIMP!"

"Yeah, that's your name isn't it?"

"T-that…" the small girl was speechless.

Hinata looked from Naruto to Inari in confusion. It took her a minute to realize what the blonde had meant.

"Ha! Can't say anything now can ya!" the blonde laughed.

"Yeah well, what about you fishcakes!" Inari pointed angrily at the teen boy.

"Err, it doesn't matter! In the end I'm the one with the bowl!" Naruto proudly held up the ramen.

The little girl clenched her hands in anger, she wasn't about to give up so quickly. With a sly grin, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the ramen bowl. Inari wasn't sure her plan would work but she couldn't think of anything else to try. The blonde boy was stronger, taller, and faster than she was, there was no way she could just snatch it from him. Unless of course, she had a trick up her sleeve.

Naruto looked down at the small girl in confusion. It seemed she had just given up and he had won, at least, that's how it appeared. The blonde wasn't about to be fooled so easily, he knew she was planning something. Before he could even guess what it was, the ramen bowl began to glow. Startled, the blonde jumped back in surprise. His eyes grew wide. To his side the young Hyuuga lifted her hands to her mouth in shock.

Inari had been concentrating as hard as she could on getting the ramen, _'This will teach him not to underestimate me!' _The small girl began feeling warm inside, a clear indication that her teleporting ability was working. While she had only just started learning how to use it, and had no real knowledge of its capabilities, she pushed forward on her plan. _'I know I can teleport myself, and I have been able to teleport Miyuki with me in the past. So maybe I can teleport things on their own. If I concentrate hard enough, I'm sure that ramen bowl will teleport onto my hands.' _The small girl's plans were soon interrupted when a warm substance came pouring down on her. Inari just stood there in shock; this was not at all how she planned to get the ramen.

Naruto and Hinata looked straight at the soaked child. Hinata ran to get some towels while Naruto and Inari stood there. "I-I-I didn't mean to do that, I was just surprised when I saw the bowl glow that I…I let go of it." The little girl stared up at him with a sad expression. Tears started to form off the corners of her eyes, causing the boy to feel even guiltier. "H-hey, don't cry," slowly the boy approached the child, lifting a hand and placing it on her shoulder. "Everything's ok."

"Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!" the small girl exploded in tears, causing Hinata to come running to them and causing the blonde to step back.

"W-what's wrong," Hinata rushed to the child's side and began wiping the ramen from her face.

"Maybe the ramen was still hot and it burned her?"

"WAHH! Inari cried even louder.

"Ah! What'd I say?" the blond stepped back even more.

"Ramen," the little girl sniffled, "I wanted the last bowl of ramen. I was so close to getting it." Inari wiped her tears away, "This is all your fault!" she pointed angrily at the blonde. "You owe me a bowl of ramen!"

"Eh! You're causing all this fuss over a bowl of RAMEN!" Naruto stared wide-eyed at the child. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" he sighed, "And here I thought you were hurt." Hinata let out a small laugh, looking from Naruto to Inari. "Eh, what's so funny?"

"Oh um…" the heiress blushed, embarrassed that he had heard her laugh, "S-sorry it's just…well… j-just a few days ago, Inari didn't even know about ramen, a-and now she seems to like it as m-much as y-you do."

"Heh, no way Hinata. No one can love ramen as much as I do!" the blonde proclaimed proudly.

"Yeah, he'd probably marry it if he could. I'm not ramen obsessed like him." Inari blatantly announced.

Naruto fumed, "You little-"

"Um," Hinata interrupted, trying to keep them from going into their hundredth argument, "I-inari, w-we need to get the ramen off you." Hinata grabbed the child's hand, "Let's go, it's bath time."

"Okay, come on Miyuki." The pup ran happily after her as they made their way into the bathroom, leaving the blonde boy alone in the living room.

"Alone again..." the boy looked around with somber eyes, "Man, I sure didn't miss this feeling." He made his way to the couch and thought back to the walk with Hinata. _'Y-you'd probably be happier if she was here instead of me.' _"Yeah right," he laughed sarcastically, "You're way off there Hinata; I had to give up on Sakura a while back." Naruto clenched his hands and bit his lip; he did not want to recall those memories. Not after he worked so hard to get over that problem. "It wasn't easy but, I'm glad I was able to get over it." the blonde turned towards the hallway, "It's been even easier to deal with it since they appeared." He took a deep breath and got up from the couch, making his way to the kitchen. "Might as well clean up the ramen mess, can't have Hinata doing all the work." He made his way to the living room where the bowl had landed and began cleaning. When he was done, he smiled, looking around his newly cleaned apartment. It was hard to believe how quickly things had changed for him. "It's only been a few days, I wonder if we'll be able to do this for much longer." The boy didn't want to think about the fact that the village was searching for the little girl. "How long will two genin be able to keep a child hidden from a village full of ninja?"

"As long as you can."

Naruto turned towards the hall to find Inari there, next to her was Miyuki and on the other side was Hinata. "But…"

"Hey if you don't think you can handle this then just say so. I took care of myself before I met you two, I can do fine on my own." Inari trembled a little. She was scared to think she'd have to be on her own again, but she knew she wasn't ready to get a new family. Just the thought of a new mother and father made her shiver. Her parents were not going to be replaced so easily.

"Now way kid, I don't give up so easily and I never go back on my word! I promised to help you and that's just what I'll do. No matter what, you can count on me!" the blonde struck a pose and flashed his famous grin.

"M-me too." Hinata added in.

Inari looked up with wide eyes and smiled, thankful to know she was not alone.

"Alright then, we won't give up without a fight! Right?"

"Right!" Hinata and Inari cheerfully yelled. Miyuki barked in agreement.

The blonde yawned, "Okay, I think it's time to go to bed."

"What! No way, I want to stay up more." Inari pouted

"Sorry kid but you're still young and you need your sleep. Right Hinata?"

"Y-yes, I-it's getting late."

"Well alright," the little girl sighed, "Goodnight," she waved to the blonde while Hinata lead her to her bed.

"Night shrimp," Naruto whispered when the child left the room.

Hinata returned to the living room moments later. "W-well, I better get home before it gets late."

"Alright, you be careful and thanks again for the futon."

"Y-you're w-welcome." the blue-haired heiress blushed and made her way to the door. With a smile and a wave, the two teens said their goodbyes.

Naruto sighed and prepared for bed, thoughts going over all the problems they were facing and would face in the future. The road ahead would test their abilities to a new level. With a sigh, the boy tried to sway his thought to less stressful subjects. Unknowingly his thoughts went to his blue-haired friend. He was grateful to know that he was not alone in this. The blonde knew that alone this would be much more stressful, but with the shy Hyuuga beside him things were much easier. He let out a soft laugh; it was funny how he had unknowingly volunteered to help them out. Who knew his small act of kindness would lead him to this? However, regardless of the problems and stress, he had enjoyed the past few days. Naruto grinned and thought to himself, '_The brat may be annoying at times but she's got her good points. With some training I'm sure her ability can become quite handy.' _he yawned and smiled, _'Then there's Hinata, I always thought she was too quite and a bit weird. Now that I've know her for a while I see that she's not what I thought. It's nice to see this side of her,_' he grinned, _'I wonder how many other people see her like that.' _the blonde looked up at his ceiling, wondering what else awaited him in the future. '_I guess change was the best thing that could happen after all I've been through at the beginning of the year.' _With the last of his energy, the boy shifted to a comfortable position and drifted to sleep.

* * *

The lights shone through the Konoha streets. Shops were closing and people were heading home. Hinata made her way home with a smile on her face as she remembered the day's events. It made her blush to think how close she had been with her crush. '_I-I can still remember how warm his hand was.' _with her mind on cloud nine the young Hyuuga bumped into the door of her room. After rubbing her sore head, Hinata reached for her doorknob.

"Did you have a good day Hinata?"

With a small 'eep', Hinata quickly turned and came face to face with her cousin. "Oh, N-neji, I…" Hinata bit her lip, "Y-yes, I had a good day, and you?"

"My day was not so fortunate; it seems your team came looking for you."

"Oh um… well, you see…" Hinata fumbled to find the right words.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but did you not say that you were going to be training with them today?"

"Y-yes, but-"

"Hinata," the male Hyuuga said in a stern voice, "we need to talk."

* * *

All right, new chapter. This one had a nice fluffy moment. Hope you're enjoying this ^w^

Seems these chapters are just getting harder and harder to write. Especially since, I've been busy with a contest on my Deviant account.

Plus I'm working on a NaruHina comic as well. If you want to see it then just go to my profile page.

BTW, does anyone know how to get the link working on your profile page? Cause my links aren't showing up right. And I wanted to post some links of a few sketches of Naruto, Hinata and Inari. Please help me if you know how to make it work.

Also for those that don't know. The part where Naruto calls Inari shrimp is because Inari means shrimp. Looked it up online and that's what it said. Inari, girl's name, means shrimp. Then of course Naruto means fishcakes, know that from the anime.

Comment if you want. I'd like to know if this story is still okay or if it's getting boring. Plus sometimes your comments end up giving me ideas for future chapters. Even a small, 'I like this character' can help inspire me ^^

I'm thinking of putting in more characters. Some for brief appearances and others for bigger roles. Not sure about their teacher's though. Might just leave them out. (don't think I'd be able to really portray them accurately) oh well, we'll see what happens.


	11. It's what must be done

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

_**Note: **__Quick announcement in regards to one of Maresia Eterna's latest chapters. _

_Chapter 34: The Holder of truth. If you haven't read it then go read it out now! _

_If you have never read the story, it's called Welcome Home. So go read it now! Forget my story, hers is way better! ^w^_

_The NaruHina moment in the end was wonderful! _

It's really true, though I'm not trying to insult my story. I enjoy writing it and will continue to till the end. Anyways her story was so great, it left me with so much joy that I wanted to dedicate this chapter to her. 3

Okay, if you didn't leave and are waiting for the new chapter then…

Onto the story!

* * *

_**Chapter 11:**_

It's what must be done

* * *

_**Previously: **__"Hinata," the male Hyuuga said in a stern voice, "we need to talk."_

* * *

"Um… o-okay."

The two Hyuugas made their way into the living room, each taking a seat next to the table. Neji cleared his throat and began talking, "Now, would you care to explain where you were today?"

"Umm…" the shy girl bit her lip, wondering if she should lie or not. "I-I'm sorry," she sadly looked down, not wanting to say anything else.

"I see," the young man contemplated, "Does that mean you will not speak of the boy?"

Hinata looked up at him with wide eyes, "B-boy?"

"Yes," he paused, looking straight at her, "Naruto."

"H-how… w-whe-"

"I happened to catch a glimpse of the two of you on my way home." he said in a serious tone, "Would you care to elaborate on the subject."

"I-I… w-we…" Hinata choked on her words. She couldn't think of what to tell her cousin, panic was engulfing her as the seconds passed by.

"You have no obligation to tell me, though I would like to know if he is the reason why you lied to me."

"N-neji, I-"

"If you cannot tell me the truth, then I do not wish to be lied to, please keep that in mind." Neji stood up and turned to leave.

"N-neji, please," the heiress looked down sadly, "I-it's not that I don't trust you to keep it a secret, it's just that, h-he told me not to tell anyone."

"I see."

"A-and I agree, that it must be kept a secret but…" the blue-haired heiress hesitated, biting her lip and tightening her fists she proceeded, "I-I don't think we can do this alone." Hinata looked up at her cousin, "I-I don't know what we're suppose to do. Sometimes I wonder if we should just tell the Hokage everything." the young kunoichi started to cry. "I-I want to do w-what's best… f-for her."

"Her?"

"Y-yes," Hinata sniffled, "You see…"

* * *

The sun arose like always, its warm rays welcoming everyone into the new day. The blue-haired heiress awoke to the birds chirping at her window, she was not so happy to see the sun already out. Sluggishly, she arose from her bed and went to her usual morning rituals. After finishing everything she left her home and headed out to Naruto's house, a worried expression was present on her face. Turning a corner, she hears a familiar voice.

"Hey Hinata!" Kiba called out as he ran towards her, Shino and Akamaru ran behind him.

"Oh, K-kiba, S-shino," the heiress looks down, "I-I'm sorry about yesterday. I-I didn't mean to trouble you."

"It's okay Hinata, I'm sure you were busy with something important." Kiba said dismissively, "Anyway, we've been assigned to track down a spy."

"S-spy?" Hinata said nervously.

"Yes, apparently there's a suspicious little girl around town that some believe to be a spy." Shino said monotonously, "We have been assigned to search for her and bring her to the Hokage for questioning."

Hinata bit her lip and turned away looking nervous.

"It's seems our suspicions were correct. Hinata, are you involved with this mysterious girl?" Shino questioned.

"Um… I-I… t-that is…"

"It's okay Hinata, we know that if you're involved then there's more to this than we've been told. This must all be some sort of misunderstanding, right Shino?"

"Yes, I would think that is the case."

"I-I see, t-then have you told anyone else about her?" Hinata asked in a worried tone.

"No, nor do we believe it's our place to say anything." Shino turned to Kiba, "We will keep this a secret until you say otherwise." Kiba nods in agreement.

"Thank you," Hinata sighs in relief and lets out a small smile.

"Hinata!"

The three genin turn to see a pink-haired girl running towards them.

"Where the heck were you yesterday?"

"Oh, um… I-I-I was h-helping out a friend and um…" Hinata spoke in a nervous tone while looking down to her feet, "I-I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."

Sakura's face softened up as she stared at her blue-haired friend. "That's okay Hinata, I didn't mean to get so angry." the young kunoichi sighed, "I've just been stressing out a lot these past few days. What with the medical training and this recent case with a little girl."

"I-I understand Sakura."

"Thanks," the pink-haired girl let out a tiny smile.

"So now that we've cleared **that **up, can we start our mission now?" Kiba said in a bored tone.

"Not today, according to Lady Tsunade, we must report to her office tomorrow morning to see what they have decided."

"Decided?" Kiba asks in a confused voice, his teammates wear the same expression.

"Yes, at this moment the Hokage and the members of the council are discussing what to do with this case." the pink-haired girl sighed and looked down, "My guess is that they'll just dismiss this whole thing and focus on matters they deem more important."

"I take it you won't be happy, if it turns out that way?" Kiba asked the medical kunoichi.

"Yeah…" Sakura looks up sadly, "This was my fist chance to test my skills and see if I have gotten any better since training under Lady Tsunade. But if they decide to end the case then I'll just have to wait till the next case arrives." She sighs and tries to shrug the whole thing off.

"I-I'm sure you've improved a lot Sakura." Hinata said to her friend, attempting to cheer her up.

"Yeah, thanks Hinata." the pink-haired girl smiled, unable to resist from teasing her friend, "Now you make sure to report to the Hokage's office tomorrow, alright. You've already disappeared twice so make sure not to disappear this time two."

"Huh, what other time has Hinata disappeared?" Kiba asked in puzzled voice.

"Oh, didn't she tell you?" the pink-haired girl cracked a grin as she saw her blue-haired friend blush, "A few days ago we were looking for the mysterious little girl and Hinata ended up disappearing. Turns out she was asked out to ramen by Naruto."

"WHAT!" Kiba exclaimed in surprise. Shino looked surprised as well, but hid his expression better.

"Uh, I-it wasn't… a, he d-didn't…" the Hyuuga heir scrambled to find the right words to say. Her face was completely red.

Sakura, having teased Hinata enough, decided to come to her rescue.

"Relax guys; I'm sure it was just a friendly invitation. This is _**Naruto**_ we're talking about." Sakura waved her hand dismissively, "I'm sure you two have noting to worry about.

"Well, so long as he doesn't start rubbing off all his bad qualities on her then I'm fine. And it was just one time, it's not like they're eating ramen together all the time now, right Hinata?." Kiba said in a huff, turning to his silent teammate. Hinata looked up at Kiba and nervously twiddled her fingers.

"Hmm, maybe yesterday when we couldn't find her she was with someone else." Sakura had a sly grin on her face as she walked up to the Hyuuga heir, "Could it be that she was with a certain blonde-boy, possibly eating ramen again?"

Hinata tried to fight back her blush as she recalled the previous day's events. It had already been difficult to talk to her cousin without turning red at the mention of her crush. "S-sakura…" the young girl hesitated to say anymore. She did not want to lie, but if she told them the truth then they might go talk to Ayame and then there would be a chance that she would remember Inari and tell them about her. Hinata knew that Shino and Kiba could be trusted, and in any other case Sakura could be as well. However, the heiress didn't want to take any chances.

"It's okay Hinata, I was just teasing you." Sakura said with a reassuring smile, "Well I better go, I've got some things I have to do today. I'll see you all tomorrow." Sakura waved goodbye and headed on her way.

With a sigh of relief, Hinata turns to her teammates and says she must leave as well.

"Wait Hinata, what do you plan to do about all this?" Kiba asked in a serious tone.

"It's foolish to think you can handle this all on your own. You cannot hide this matter for much longer." Shino adds in.

"I-I know," the heiress sighed dejectedly, "I had a long talk with Neji yesterday and I figured out what I must do. T-that's why I have to go see Naruto and-"

"Naruto!" Kiba huffed, "You mean that idiot really is involved in all this?"

"Y-yes, but h-how did you-"

"We came across the girl a few days ago; Kiba caught yours and Naruto's scents on her. That's when we started suspecting things."

"Yeah, we even helped hide any evidence that could lead to the kid while we were on our mission yesterday. Man, I can't believe that idiot is involved. He probably caused all this mess didn't he? That dummy probably forced you to help him out too huh?" Kiba voiced was laced with rage and frustration.

"N-no Kiba, you've got it all wrong!" Hinata quickly spoke up before he said anything else. "N-naruto didn't do anything wrong. H-he's been nothing but helpful these past few days. S-so please don't blame him for anything." the heiress looked up at her teammate, "This is all m-my fault. I'm the one to blame, and I-I'm the one that got him involved."

"Alright Hinata, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and blaming the blonde idiot." Kiba caught Shino's look, "What? He is an idiot!"

"K-kiba!"

"What? It's not really an insult; it's more of a fact! But ok, I'll try to stop calling him an idiot all the time." Kiba sighed in defeat. He was clearly out numbered.

"So then Hinata, why are you going to go see Naruto?" the bug collector asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

The blue-haired heiress turned to her teammates and spoke in a rigid tone, "I have to talk to him." tightening her fists she added, "It's time to put an end to this." With the last of her words, the Hyuuga turned away and headed towards her destination. Her teammates looked on in concern, unknowing what awaited their blue-haired companion.

* * *

She could see feel the sun poking her awake as she pulled the covers over her head. "No… not yet…"

It was already 9 'o' clock in the morning, the birds were chirping, the villagers were working, and a small little girl was fighting against the sun to catch a few more Z's. Unfortunately, the child was no match for the bright sun and its faithful sidekick. Just when it seemed like the sun was retreating and the child had won, a dark object pounced on the girl's little head.

"No fair Miyuki!" the little girl yelled, "You're suppose to be on my side!"

On her lap was the little black puppy, wagging her tail and nudging her owner's chin. A small whimper and the infamous puppy dog look of hers was all it took for Inari to give in. With a sigh of defeat, the little girl arose from her bed, Miyuki followed behind.

After getting ready the two headed into the kitchen. Inari looked to her left and then looked down to her puppy. "Looks like the snoring blob's still asleep." the black-haired dog smiled and barked in agreement. The little girl then got two bowls out of the cabinet and prepared breakfast for the two.

The two began eating when their heard the blob talk.

"I'll show you all!"

Confused, the child walked into the living room to hear better.

"I'll… I'll… be Hokage one day…" the boy shifted to his side, "Then everyone will finally… they'll finally…"

Before Inari could hear anymore, there was a knock on the door. Leaving the sleeping boy's side, the little girl walked towards the door and asked who was there. A soft voice answered her back. With a smile on her face, Inari opened the door. Hinata walked in and was greeted with a hug from the small child.

"I'm glad you're here! I almost though you wouldn't come by today."

"Sorry, Inari, I ran into my teammates before coming here. Speaking of which, I-is Naruto awake yet? I-I have to talk to him about something."

"Nope, he's still sleeping on his futon, mumbling weird things about becoming a Hokage so that people will finally… do something." Inari paused in thought, "What do you think he wants people to do?"

"Um… well… h-he probably was talking about wanting people to acknowledge him."

"Acknowledge him? Why would he care if people acknowledged him or not?"

"W-well, he's b-been alone most of his life. F-for some reason, a lot of people in the village don't like him and treat him bad." Hinata paused and looked down sadly. "I-I don't know why, but it's been like that since I can remember, t-that's why he trains hard to become the strongest so that people will notice him."

"Sounds like this village is full of mean people. Sure, he can be a bit annoying, but he's a nice person and no one should shun him! It's not fair!"

"I-I know, b-but I-it's been like this since he was very little. For some reason it's like they know something we don't."

"But what would they know that would give reason to dislike him?"

"I-I'm not sure, b-but there's nothing I can think of that can change my mind about Naruto. H-he is who he is; nothing and no one can change that."

"Sounds like you've always been around him, are you two really good friends?"

"Eh?" the young Hyuuga blushed a deep red, realizing how her words must have sounded. "W-well, I-I wouldn't say t-that, I-I just know a bit about his life. I'd like to think w-we are friends but…" the teen didn't finish her sentence. It hurt her to think about what she might mean to her brush. Her best guess was that he still thought of her as a shy weirdo. Not someone important in his life, not someone that mattered a lot to him. Not like other people. Hinata tried to shake away her thoughts. It bothered her to keep thinking such things. Constantly reminding herself that he cared for a certain pink-haired girl was not the way to go about things. It was best to just enjoy the time she would be able to spend with the blonde. Learn what she could about him and try to discover more of his likes and dislikes. It always made her heart jump when she found out something new about him. Every discovery made her feel like she was one-step closer to him.

"I understand," Inari grinned and headed towards the kitchen with her pup, "I'll leave you two alone so you can talk."

Hinata blushed and turned to the blonde; slowly she made her way to the boy and knelt down beside him. _'I-I wonder if I should wake him or not?' _Hinata stares down at the blonde boy, taking in every detail she can about him. With a big smile on her face, the Hyuuga heiress watched him sleep. She noticed the way his face looked and how it would change every now and then. Hinata found herself wondering what the boy could be dreaming about; secretly she wished he were dreaming of her. With a blush on her cheeks, Hinata lifted her hand and gently shook the boy, whispering softly, "N-n-naruto."

The blonde shifted a little but remained asleep. Hinata tried once more and received the same response. The teen girl tried to raise her voice a bit, so that he could hear her better, but to no avail. Each time she tried, she would be an emotional mess. Her heart would pound, her face would heat up, and her stomach would be doing back flips. It was always hard for her to be close to him, and just the thought of touching him would send her head spinning. But Hinata knew she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. There were things that just couldn't wait for later. Gathering all the strength the had, Hinata tried to wake the blonde once more. "N-naruto," she choked out, "N-naruto I-I need to talk to you."

The blonde teen squinted at the light coming from his window and tried to focus his eyes on the figure in front of him. It took a while for him to see it was Hinata. The blue-haired girl quickly pulled away as she noticed their close proximity. Stuttering a quick apology, she stood up and twiddled her fingers nervously. A small smile and a tiny blush were evidently seen on her face.

Slightly confused and still a bit asleep, the boy rubbed his eyes before speaking, "Huh? Hinata? W-what's going on?"

"S-sorry for w-waking you up N-naruto, I-it's just that I n-need to talk to you about something."

The blonde wiped the drool from his face and rose from his bed, "Alright, what's up?"

"I, um… y-yesterday I…" the Hyuuga heir nervously tried to speak but found herself turning red as she watched her crush. He was pulling the covers away from himself and scratching his head in a sleepily manner. In her eyes, he looked so cute and adorable. When his eyes looked up at her, she tried to speak once more, "y-yesterday at night… umm, N-neji…"

The girl's words were caught in her mouth as she saw her crush scratch his stomach. The Hyuuga girl's face quickly lit up as she caught a glimpse of the boy's navel. To her it almost felt like she saw something she shouldn't have. Hinata quickly turned her head and nervously bit her lip as she tried to regain her composure.

"Umm… N-neji w-was waiting for me when I got back home. A-apparently he saw us t-together when we went to pick up s-some ramen and wanted to ask me about it."

"Oh, and what did you tell him?"

Nervously, Hinata turned to the blonde-haired boy, "Um, I-I t-told him the t-truth."

"What? Hinata why'd you-?"

"I'm s-sorry Naruto; I-I didn't want to lie to him, p-plus I thought he c-could help us." Crestfallen, Hinata looked down at her feet, "I-I'm sorry, I-I understand if you hate me and never want to trust me again."

"Wha? Hinata, that's crazy. I'm not going to hate you just because you told your cousin."

"Y-you're not?" Hinata looked up hopefully.

"Of course not," Naruto said with a grin, "I mean, you thought he could help us out. It's not like you just went around telling anyone you knew about this. I still trust you Hinata."

The Hyuuga heir's heart lit up with joy, happy to know Naruto wasn't upset with her. With a smile on her face she said, "I-I'm glad."

"Besides, I would have probably told someone I could trust if I had someone like that." Naruto sadly states. "I mean, I would have told Sakura if…" the blonde looked away with a far off expression.

"N-naruto? A-are you okay?"

The teen quickly shook his thoughts away, "Yeah, I was just thinking that it would probably have been a bad idea if I told Sakura about this. She probably wouldn't believe me if I told her the spy was just a harmless little girl. I bet you anything she'd think the spy had somehow tricked me and was using me to find out the village's secrets. Heh, like I'd be dumb enough to be fooled by a spy!"

"Oh, I see."

Naruto sighs in relief, happy to hear that Hinata believed him. In truth, he had other reasons why he would not tell Sakura about Inari. Even though they had managed to preserve their friendship, he was still a bit weary at letting her into his life completely. He knew that, until his wounds healed up, it would be best for them not to get too close. Old feelings would most likely rise up and he was not about to get hurt once more. The blonde boy noticed Hinata looking at him. She was obviously concerned about him, not used to his silence. He smiled slightly, _'I'm glad Hinata's here. It's good to know there's someone here that I can count on.' _With a grin on his face, Naruto went back to the subject at hand. "So, what did Neji say after you told him the truth?"

* * *

The blonde-haired Hokage rubbed her head in annoyance. The meeting had already be going on for half an hour and everyone had yet to come to an agreement. There wasn't even an opportunity for her to speak; everyone was talking over one another. Finally unable to deal with it much more, the Hokage banged her fist on the table and ordered everyone to be quiet. "Now, without everyone talking at once, who here has an idea of what we should do?"

"I believe the matter is simple," an elderly man rose from his chair and spoke first, "We must forget this absurd rumor and handle more important matters."

"Figures you would dismiss this completely," an old woman scoffed, "We can deal with the other matters later, right no this is a more pressing matter."

"I agree, to dismiss this would be playing right into their hands. They want us to wave this of as unimportant. What we should do is use all our forces to scour the village and find the spy. Use every means necessary and not stop until the foe is apprehended."

"You speak such idiocy; this is nothing more than a prank from a villager. If there were indeed a spy in our mitts then why hasn't the fiend done something?"

"They're just trying to tire us out, to make us believe that it was just a false alarm. They want us to lower our guard. We cannot take the chance that it is someone dangerous!"

"Nor can we take the chance that it is indeed a false alarm and use all our ninja to go on a wild goose chase!"

"Enough!" Tsunade rose from her chair, "This squabbling is getting us nowhere! Whether or not this spy is real or not we must take some sort of action. We must put this to a vote! Does anyone here want to disagree with me?"

"Hmph, even though I think this is all a waste of time, I see no reason to disagree. A vote shall decide what should be done." the elderly man spoke.

"Yes, we shall see who else believes that this is not just an insignificant matter." the aged woman nodded.

* * *

"Um… N-naruto, d-do you think it's alright for us to just barge in?" the shy heiress nervously asked, "D-don't you think w-we should wait until the Hokage's meeting is over?"

"No way Hinata. They're talking about something that concerns us; we have to tell them truth before they do something crazy!"

"B-but…"

"Remember what we talked about Hinata. Your cousin was right, we can't hide from this forever, we have to face this head on."

The two teens made their way to the closed office where the discussion could be heard.

"So then it's agreed?"

"Yes, it would seem so."

"Perfect, then we must take action immediately."

"I still think this whole thing is foolish."

"You can think all you want, but the decision has been made!"

"Enough you two, the order has been sent. It will only be a matter of time now."

"Yes, then I can prove that this was all just a waste of time."

"As if, I will prove that there is indeed an unwanted guest in our village."

The two teens listened in, a shocked look evident on both of their faces.

"N-naruto, w-we're too late. They've made their decision. W-what should we do?"

The blonde growled in frustration, "I'm not sure. Those uptight geezers will never listen to us. And I don't think Grandma Tsunade is in the mood to hear me out right now. I'm not sure if we should risk it or not."

"This is a stupid plan."

"No it's not, sending our shinobi to every apartment in the village to look for the child is a great idea. You heard that one man's claim. He said the spy shouted out something about going back to her apartment when she vanished from his sight. The best thing we can do now is do a thorough search in every apartment and try to find traces of the spy."

"Hmph, it's still a stupid idea. What if this so-called spy tries to escape from the shinobi's grasp?

"That's why they have been told to use any forces necessary. If the person struggles they will knock her out. This would be a lot easier if more ninja were being used."

"Hah, anything more would just be a waste of our resources! You all should be grateful we even let you carry out this plan!"

"Everyone quiet down! We have already agreed on the plan so I don't want to hear anymore of this bickering!"

An uncomfortable chill surrounding everyone in the room.

"Oh no, d-did you hear that Naruto? I-if they find her they could really hurt her!"

"Yeah, we better hurry and get to her first. If we can get there before anyone else we can protect her."

"R-right."

With a sense of urgency, the two genin raced towards the blonde's home.

* * *

Hello, it's been a while hasn't it. You all probably think I've forgotten all about this huh? Well don't worry, as I keep saying, this story will go on to the end. (however long that might be)

This took longer than I was hoping for. Especially since I had to rewrite the meeting with the Hokage and the council after it didn't save right. It's different now since I don't remember what I wrote last time.

A lot's been going on, and no longer having internet is making it harder to find time to submit anything or ever check your reviews.

Nevertheless, It's thanks to everyone out there that I am able to write each chapter. I always find inspiration to do better and write more when I read comments and read other people's work. I'm still new at this so any criticism is appreciated. Love it or hate it, I'd like to hear what you think :)


	12. Goodbye

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

* * *

_Oh boy, another month has passed hasn't it? Boy am I slow at this. ._

_How I wish I could write like three chapters at this moment. Then I could submit one every week or so and the gap between chapters wouldn't be so long. Nevertheless I'll try harder to write more. I'm spending all my free time on my art so I've been neglecting this. How sad._

_What I need is someone right next to me to constantly tell me to work on my writing._

_Truth be told these chapters haven't been planned so I'm starting to wonder where to go from here. It's been going day by day but I'm going to have to speed it up so that weeks can go by. Otherwise this will never get to book 2 and 3._

_I'll have to sit down one of these days and plan out all of book one._

_Well, enough rambling, let's get on with the chapter!_

* * *

_**Chapter 12** _

Goodbye

The room was plunged in silence, a small figure napping quietly. A black-haired pup wandered around the apartment in search of something to play with. As she approached the front door where her chew toy resided, she heard a few noises. With a quick jump the pup makes her way to her sleeping owner.

Moments later, a large thud is heard.

* * *

The streets were crowded with people as the day neared lunchtime. Everyone was bustling around the restaurants and snack shops. Two young genin tried desperately to maneuver they way through the crowds.

"Get out of the way! Move it!" the blonde grunted as he pushed his way through a row of people. "Darn it! Just our luck to be in a hurry when everyone's out getting something to eat!"

The blonde made his way past the crowd when, he noticed he was all alone.

"What the? Where'd Hinata go?" the teen turned his head and looked around the crowd. Suddenly a voice caught his attention.

"Umm, s-sorry about that. L-let me help you pick it all up."

At his right was the blue-haired Hyuuga, helping out an elderly woman she had accident run into. Quickly the blonde rushed to help them out.

"Hinata, come on we have to go. Did you forget we're in a hurry?"

"B-but Naruto, I-I knocked all her groceries out of her bag, I-it's only right that I help her pick them all up.

The two genin helped pick up every last item and made their way back to their destination. The blonde boy grumbled as he ran. _'I hope we're not too late.'_

* * *

The tall man surveyed the room, taking in every detail, to see if any clues were around. With a dejected sigh he made his way out of the residence and called out to his companions.

"Alright men, does anyone have something to report?"

"No sir!"

"Well keep searching, this is the last floor to check. Afterwards we'll head to the other side of town." the tall man called out to his men, "Dismissed!"

"Sir!"

With a small salute the men made their way into each home. With a knock at the door they entered each family's home and began their search. Since it was the middle of the day, most households were empty so they had no trouble getting inside and looking around. Those that did have people were calmly asked to step aside while they investigated.

"Nothing to report?"

"Nope."

"Then, I guess it's time to head out."

"Yeah."

Most of the men were already heading down and making their way into the streets when two young teens made their way into an opened apartment.

"Wha? What's going on?" the young boy's eyes widened in surprise as he looked into the apartment building.

"Oh no, w-we're too late." the girl walked to the boys side and brought her hands to her face. Inside the apartment were two men, each one carelessly searching through cabinets and closets. The blonde boy looked on in rage as all of his things were being tossed around, the men didn't seem to care if anything broke. As they finished with the kitchen they proceeded to the bedroom.

Their actions brought the boy back to reality as he watched the men enter his room. Quickly he ran to them, worried that they would find something. The two men went on to open drawers as an arm reached for the blonde. Naruto turned in surprise as Hinata held up her finger and pulled him towards the kitchen.

"What is it?"

"Naruto, I… I'm worried."

"Yeah I know, but don't worry, I won't let them harm Inari." Naruto turned to the men, "She's probably hiding here somewhere, so I better go make sure they don't hurt her when the find her."

The blue-haired heiress tugged on the boy's sleeve as he tried to walk away. The teen looked at Hinata is confusion, something about her didn't seem right. "What's wrong Hinata?"

"Um…" Hinata hesitated as she looked towards the men's direction. Turning to her crush, she stepped closer to him and brought her face close to his ear. She didn't want them to overhear what she was about to say.

Naruto stood in confusion as the heiress approached him.

"Um…" Hinata tried her best not to faint, she was so close to the blonde that she could feel the warmth emanating from him. It took all that she had to speak the following words. "N-naruto, um, Inari's not here."

"What?"

Quickly Hinata looked to the side and sighed, the two men didn't seem to have heard the boy's outburst.

"I-it's true, s-she's not here. I checked this whole apartment with my Byakugan and I don't see her anywhere."

"So then where is she?"

"I-I don't know."

The two teens backed away from each other as the two men approached them.

The older man glared at the kyuubi container in disgust and turned to his companion., "There's nothing here, let's go."

With a nod the two men left Naruto's apartment, from the looks they gave the blonde boy, it was obvious they hated him. Though Hinata couldn't figure out why.

The young kunoichi walked around the apartment in confusion, every now and then Naruto would notice her expression change. Nothing was making sense to him. In a sign of frustration the teen scratched his head and let out an angry growl, frightening the Hyuuga heiress.

"Sorry Hinata, it's just sort of confusing. If the ninja Granny Tsunade sent didn't find Inari, then where could she be?"

"I don't know Naruto, but that's not the only thing that's strange." Hinata motined for the blonde to foolow as she made her way to his bedroom and opened up the dresser drawers.. "Look, all of Inari's things are gone."

"What?"

"Yes, I even checked the kitchen and the closets, everything we bought Inari is gone, even Miyuki's food."

"But what could that mean?" Naruto questioned, nothing about this situation was making any sense. "We'll we've got to go look for her, we're the only one's that can."

"R-right."

With a look of determination the two genin made their way into the busy streets of Konoha. Hinata activated her Byakugan and began her search.

* * *

Tsunade sat on her chair, tired after all that senseless arguing, being a Hokage was too tiresome in her opinion.

It was mid afternoon when the men reported back to the blonde Hokage. After reporting that there was no sign of a child in any apartment she dismissed them and reported to the council members. Boy had **that **been a bad idea. The bickering between each member was unbearable to the Hokage, their voices still seemed to be ringing in her ears.

While one side of the council was happy to have the whole "spy" investigation stopped, the other side was fighting to continue the investigation. No matter what the other side said, it seemed every member was not willing to compromise. In the end the Hokage was able to close the matter by reminding the council members that the decision had already been decided and that the search had been the last action they were going to take. Bitterly the members had no choice but to drop the matter and move on to other issues.

Tsunade left out a sigh of relief, after all that she was finally able to relax and take a breather.

"Lady Tsunade, I'm glad you're back," Shizune called from behind a stack of papers, "Here's all the paperwork you have to look through today." she said laying the heavy stack down on the Hokage's desk. "This will take a few hours to finish so you might want to get started right away."

With a heavy sigh the Hokage picked up the first sheet of paper. So much for taking a breather.

* * *

A breeze made it's way into the forest, caressing a tiny creature that lay near the river. Letting out a small shiver, the creature slowly opened it's eyes and took notice of it's surroundings. As it tried to stand, it found it had no energy and collapsed once more.

Seconds later an even smaller figure arrived with a smile, turning towards their newfound friend.

This friend approached the tired creature and let out a tiny smile, "Well, I never thought I'd find you here."

* * *

The two teens were running out of places to search, they had almost covered all of Konoha in the last few hours and still could not find her.

"ARRGH! I can't believe this!" the blonde huffed, "How could one little girl just vanish like that!"

"N-naruto, k-keep your voice d-down," the shy Hyuuga whispered, "S-someone could hear you."

"Eh! Your right Hinata, the last thing we need in more problems." Naruto sighed. "Where should we check next?"

"Umm, w-well the t-training grounds are the closet from here."

"Alright we'll go there then." the boy said, leading the way, "Do you see anything with your Byakugan?"

"Mmmh, n-no I-I can't see anything yet, but my range of view doesn't cover all of the area." Hinata pointed out, "I'll be able to see better once we get close-"

"Hinata?' the blonde turned his head just as Hinata started losing her balance. Quickly, the boy reacted and caught the falling heiress as she made her way to the ground. With his arm around her waist, the teen gently lifted her up. "Hinata? Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I-I'm sorry," Hinata said as she tried to regain her balance, "I m-must have overused my Byakugan, t-that's all."

"Will you be alright then? Maybe you should rest for a bit."

"N-no, I-I'm fine," the young Hyuuga protested, "W-we still have to find Inari, I-I'll rest when I know she's safe."

The blonde smiled at the determined look of his blue-haired friend. It was just like Hinata to worry more about the well being of someone else before worrying about herself. Many times he had witnessed her caring nature, still he couldn't help but wonder if she was pushing herself too hard. "Alright, but don't use your Byakugan anymore, okay?"

"I-it's okay Naruto, I-I can still use it w-"

"No way Hinata, you've used it enough for today, you can't push yourself too hard. We'll search without the Byakugan and that's that." the blonde spoke in a stern voice, leaving no room for discussion.

"O-okay Naruto," Hinata meekly responded. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you didn't do anything wrong," Naruto calmly said, "Let's just go search for the kid."

Hinata nodded her head and followed behind her crush as they made their way into the training area. Every now and then the boy would glance back at the Hyuuga to make sure she was okay. This small act of kindness was enough to send the young girl's heart soaring. His concern for her was so evident that Hinata couldn't help but blush every time her eyes caught his glances. The young girl knew that this alone did not somehow prove he liked her or anything of the sort, but it did show that he cared for her. To the blue-haired heiress, that was enough to send her stomach flipping. But now was not the time to be swooning over her crush. With a determined look on her face, Hinata picked up her pace and began searching for Inari once more.

* * *

"So what's you're name?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you refuse to tell me anything about yourself."

"Well, I have my reasons"

"I see, sounds very suspicious to me."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing, I came here to relax, not figure some kid out."

"I see."

The two figures laid on the grass, watching the clouds go by as a small critter chased a butterfly around in circles.

"I probably should go soon." the young girl rose from the grass and called out to her tiny companion.

"Go where?" the older boy questioned in a tired manner.

"Far away," the girl said, "Where I can't cause any trouble."

"Alright, I'll be here if you need me." the boy said with a wave of his hand.

With that the small child made her way into the forest to collect her things. Looking back, she couldn't help but let a tear fall down her face. In a few moments she'd leave this place forever…

* * *

After passing the training post they continued into the forest, as they walked they made sure to be alert for any sounds or movement. They plunged deeper into the forest until they came across a stream of water. The energetic blonde displayed a huge pout on his face as Hinata tried to control her rising blush.

"Damn those girls!" the boy grumbled, kicking a small stone into the water.

Incidentally, while they were making their way into the forest, two familiar kunoichi's happened to catch a glimpse of them. After getting the two teens attention, the two girls ran to have a chat with them. The word 'chat' is used loosely. It wasn't so much as a chat as it was an interrogation.

* * *

"_Hey you two," Ino spoke enthusiastically, "My my, I never thought I'd see you two alone together, guess 'ol billboard brow __**can**__ be right sometimes."_

"_What are you talking about Ino-pig, I'm always right!" _

"_Uh, what are you two talking about?" Naruto asked with a puzzled look, not wanting to waste time hearing them argue._

"_About you two of course!" Ino happily chirped._

"_U-us?" Hinata blushed, already having an idea of what the two girls were going to say._

"_Yeah, I told Ino how you two went out for dinner a few days ago, and how it seems that spring is coming early for you two."_

"_Huh? What the heck? Spring?" the blonde felt a bit dizzy, nothing seemed to be making any sense to him._

"_Moron, figures you'd never understand a thing." Ino quipped, "Sakura maybe you can explain it to him."_

"_It's be easier if I tried explaining it to a baby," Sakura sighed, "but I'll try. Listen up you bonehead, Ino and I are trying to say that we suspect you two are an item." Sakura said, holding up an accusatory finger._

"_An item?" Naruto ran the word through his head, trying to figure out what they meant. After recalling a conversation with Jiraiya, the answer hit him. "Wait what? Me and Hinata?" the blonde turned to the blue-haired heiress and chuckled, "Did you hear that Hinata? Boy do these two have it wrong, right?" _

"_Y-yeah," the shy kunoichi said dejectedly. Even though it was true, it cause Hinata some pain to see her crush deny it so easily and laugh about it._

"_Oh yeah? Then why did you two eat ramen together? Why did Ino see you two walking together a few days ago? And why are you two together now!" the pink-haired girl bellowed out._

"_Sheesh Sakura, calm down," the blonde said, holding his hands in front of him, "Since when has it been strange for two friends to hang out together?'_

_Sakura sighed, she knew she was overreacting, but it infuriated her to hear Naruto dismiss Hinata so easily. She knew the shy Hyuuga's feelings for the boy and just wished the blonde would get the hint already. Even if he didn't feel the same, he needed to know the truth. "Well there's nothing wrong with that, it's just that it all happened so suddenly, it's kinda suspicious."_

"_No kidding." Ino nodded her head, "I mean, it's not like you really ever paid much attention to Hinata before."_

"_Well yeah but," the blonde stopped in his tracks, he knew they were right. Before Inari came, he had always paid little to no attention to Hinata. But it wasn't his fault entirely, Hinata was always so nervous and shy around him. Many times he wondered why she always acted so strange around him, but no matter what he could never find and answer. _

"_A-actually, most of the time we're t-together, it's because we happen to r-run into each other." Hinata stepped in, drawing the questioning stares away from the blonde._

"_Y-yeah, I already explained to Sakura about that time with the ramen"_

"_A-and that other time, when Ino saw us, I was trying to return something that I found, Naruto just happened to see me and offered to help me find the person."_

"_Oh yeah, that little girl." Ino nooded her head. "Um, Ina-um, what was her name again?"_

"_Little girl?" Sakura questioned._

_Naruto and Hinata tensed up, Sakura was the last person they wanted to hear about Inari._

"_Umm, s-she's a little girl I see around where I live, s-she's always dropping things everywhere." Hinata said nervously, hoping Sakura wouldn't suspect anything._

"_Oh," the pink-haired girl looked deep in thought as the two teens looked at each other. _

"_Uh well, we better go now, right Hinata?"_

"_R-right, s-see you both later."_

"_Huh, wait, where are you two going?" Ino said, trying to keep them from leaving._

"_Uh, you see…" Naruto thought for a moment, "I was on my way to do some training when I ran into Hinata and since she's also going to train I though we could do a little sparring." _

"_Oh I wanna see that!" the blonde kunoichi said happily._

"_Yeah, me too." Sakura said, forgetting her previous thoughts._

"_N-no way, this is a private match!" the blonde huffed, the two kunoichi just seemed impossible to get rid of._

"_Oh yeah," Ino grinned, turning to Sakura, "Did you hear that?"_

"_Sure did," Sakura evilly grinned, "They want some __**alone time**__!"_

_Both girls looked at the their two friends and walked away giggling. A few times they would stop walking and turn two the two teens, shouting out teasing remarks about the two kissing and having a romantic time alone._

_Naruto just stood there angry and slightly embarrassed. Those two girls were always coming up with ways to make fun of him. To think that they would go so far as to say that he and Hinata were a couple. Every time the two medical ninja would say something, he'd shout back an insult or deny their claims._

_The blue-haired heiress however, stood by his side in silence. Her face was completely red and her heart was beating rapidly. Thoughts of the two kunoichi's remarks floating through her head._

* * *

"Man, I can't believe they said all that stuff." Naruto grumbled, "Humph, Girls."

It had taken the boy a while to snap the heiress back from her thoughts. Afterwards their walk through the forest was quiet and a bit awkward. Both teens tried not to think about the incident too much and focus on the task at hand.

Suddenly Naruto stopped walking and signaled for Hinata. When she came to his side they both walked cautiously ahead, the boy had heard a noise and wanted to see what it was.

"Well, I've got all my things, ready to go?" the little girl said with a sad smile as she looked down at her puppy. With a bark and a wag of her tail, Miyuki jumped into the arms of her owner.

"Alright, let's do this one more time," Inari said, taking a deep breath and exhaling. A drop of sweat ran down her forehead as she closed her eyes in concentration. 'it's time for me to go, I wish I could have stayed here longer but, I guess that's too much for me to ask.' With a sad smile, Inari opened her eyes and looked at the sky, "Thanks for everything you two, but I've caused you enough trouble." Closing her eyes, she concentrated once more as she though of the place where she had met Hinata, the place where it all started. Her concentration soon broke as a figure came to her side, looking up, she saw who it was.

"Not so fast brat," Naruto spoke as he placed a hand on the girl's head. "You can't get rid of us that easily."

Looking up wide-eyed, Inari let a small tear escape her eye, "but."

Hinata came up behind the small child and looked her over, making sure she wasn't injured. With a warm smile she said, "I-it's okay, they've left the apartment, you can come back now."

"Yeah, let's go back home okay?" Naruto said, looking down at the small child with a grin.

"Okay," Inari meekly replied, even though she didn't want to cause them anymore problems, she couldn't help but want to stay with them. Even though she didn't know what would happen in the future, Inari decided to put her faith in the two teens and believe they would be able to handle whatever came their way.

"Oh yeah kid, how'd you manage to escape the apartment?" the blonde questioned before they headed out.

"I teleported, it was really hard since I've never done it before with Miyuki and all this stuff with me." Inari said pointing to her backpack and two bags of clothes. "See, I was sleeping when Miyuki woke me up and led me to the door. There I heard some people talking about searching each apartment. So as quickly as I could I gathered up all my stuff and teleported away. I almost thought they were going to catch me."

"Wow, good job Miyuki!" Naruto said, bending down and scratching the pups head. Miyuki let out a happy bark and wagged her tail.

"Hey what about me? I was the one who used up all me energy teleporting here!" Inari huffed.

"Yeah but, you wouldn't have been able to get away if it wasn't for her." the blonde grinned, riling up the child even more.

However, Inari quickly calmed down when a thought hit her. "Ok, I guess she does deserve some credit, especially after she brought someone to help me earlier."

"What!" the two teens spoke in unison.

"Yeah, when I teleported here I was completely drained of energy, I couldn't even get up. When I opened my eyes I saw Miyuki coming towards me with a boy walking behind her. He was really nice, he helped me up and gave me some of his lunch. After that I was feeling a little better, but he told me to rest so we sat down a in a cool spot and looked at the clouds go by. He asked me a few questions but I didn't answer any of them. After that I said goodbye and came her to get my stuff."

"A boy huh, I hope he doesn't tell anyone about you." The blonde said, a bit uneasy.

"Um, I'm sure he won't, and even if he does, I don't think they'll think much of it." Hinata reassured the boy.

"Guess you're right. Anyway, let's go home and get something to eat, me and Hinata didn't get a chance to eat any lunch today."

"Ok."

"I-I'll b-be happy to make something for dinner Naruto."

"Really, thanks Hinata," the blonde said with a huge grin, he knew that whatever Hinata made was bound to be delicious. After eating a few meals she'd prepared from him and Inari, he was quite sure she knew her way around a kitchen.

Hinata could only blush as she saw the boy's expression, she could already tell he enjoyed her cooking.

As the four walked home (Miyuki included) they made sure to take a route that not many people followed on their way home. The sun was starting to set and soon the streets would be bustling with people again.

When they got to Naruto's apartment, Hinata went straight to the kitchen and began preparing dinner. Inari took this time to put her things back where they belonged and then helped Naruto straighten up his place. The two men didn't manage to break much but they had cause a bit of a mess. Looking all around her, Inari apologized to the blonde, blaming herself for what had occurred. After convincing the child that it wasn't her fault, the two were called by Hinata and dinner was served. As they ate Inari couldn't hold back her joy, there they were, three people, joined together by an unexpected tragedy. It had only been 5 days, but already a bond was beginning to grow between the three.

* * *

End of this chapter. Phew, finally done.

No cliffy or anything to worry about. Next chapter will be a brand new day. With um… uh…. Well I'll figure that out soon… hopefully.

Man this chapter was hard to fill up. All that Sakura and Ino stuff just sort of popped into my head as I was writing. Totally not planned but I kinda like it. Most of this was written off the top of my head. Seems that's the best way for me to write. Though it really helps if I have a vague idea of what I want in the chapter.

Comment if you want. I love reading your comments. They make me very happy ^^


	13. Unexpected changes

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any characters from Naruto, everyone else i do own!

**Note**: First attempt to write a story. I'm sorta making it up as i go along. though i do have most of it sorta planned out. (alot has been changing though) Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as i get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one ;p )

_I'm so very sorry for the wait. _

_Hopefully this new chapter will make up for it. _

_I'd like to say I've been working hard all this time but that'd be a lie. I was actually stuck on what to write and decided to take a break. When I came back to the story, I ended up changing the plot a lot. First, this was going to happen, then that, then this. I wonder if I chose the right path or not? Maybe the other ideas would have been better. Oh well, it's too late now._

_Onto the story! _

_**PS. Totally ticked off! I finished this on Sunday, Jan 4 and haven't been able to post it yet!! I have no internet so I go to the library, but they have fanfiction BLOCKED! I told them about it so maybe they'll unblock it now. If not, I'll have to wait till I can post it on my friend's house. **_

_Just wanted yall to know that it would have been posted sooner if not for those problems. _

_Oh well, I'll use this time to write the next chapter._

_**Chapter 13 **_

Unexpected changes

It was a normal morning for many of the villagers of Konoha; each person was running through their daily routines. Yet, in the eyes of a certain pink-haired medical ninja, things were already getting off to a bad start. The girl had set her alarm the day before to ensure she would wake up extra early. Unfortunately for her, the clock's battery ran out in the middle of the night. Sakura still managed to make it in time, but the same could not be said for her friends. Frustrated by her tough morning, the kunoichi tapped her foot as she looked towards the door for the other threes' arrival.

Hinata managed to make it in time as well, though she arrived ten minutes after the pink-haired girl. As she entered the office, she could tell her friend had been waiting impatiently. The shy heiress said a quick apology and sat down on one of the chairs that placed there for the four genin.

Shino and Kiba showed up 5 minutes later, but before Sakura could yell at them, Lady Tsunade spoke up.

"Alright everyone, have a seat."

The four ninja sat on their seats in anticipation as the Hokage recalled the past days' events.

Hinata already knew what the Hokage had done; the only thing that she wanted to hear was what lady Tsunade was going to do now.

Kiba and Shino were both shocked to hear that ninja had been sent to check out every apartment. Both boys looked towards their teammate for signs that nothing bad had happened. Hinata caught their gaze and quickly assured them that all was fine.

Sakura was upset to hear that the 'spy' wasn't caught, but the next words from the Hokage were what really riled her up.

"What!?" the pink-haired teen yelled, slamming her hands down on the desk in front of her. "You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious Sakura," the hokage signed, "This was a decision made by the council, we all made an agreement and it must be followed. Since we found no signs of the 'spy', we have decided to stop our search. For now we will just be cautious of any suspicious behavior, but we will not waste anymore time and people on this. Do you understand?"

Sakura reluctantly nodded her head, knowing that the Hokage's voice had left no room for argument.

"Now that that's settled, let's move on to other matters."

* * *

The restaurant was surprisingly quiet; considering it was the time where most of the town's villagers gathered around for lunch. Though it wasn't common to have the place swamped with clients, it was still a bit odd not to have the regulars around. Most of the people who worked nearby would come at noon to unwind from their tiresome jobs and enjoy their deliciously drizzled meats. Besides the young lad and his two teammates, the bistro only had three other tables occupied.

Glancing to his right, he saw his rotund friend piling away bag after bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips.

"So, Shikamaru, you were going to tell us where you were yesterday?"

Turning his attention to his other teammate in front of him, he let out an exasperated sigh. "I already told you, I was no where important."

"No fair Shikamaru! I always have to tell you where I've been!" the girl huffed.

"That's only when you don't show up for training, and even then I don't make you tell me. Most of the time I only ask you because you're the one who tells us to show up and you forget even to come. It's very annoying."

"You know, he has a point Ino." the last teammate chimed in.

"Choji, you're suppose to be on my side!"

"I am?"

The young girl let out a frustrated cry, "ARRGH! Choji, can't you tell he's hiding something from us?"

"He is?"

"Yes, and he won't tell us cause he obviously doesn't trust us."

"He doesn't?" the plump boy looked to his male teammate, a hurt look in his eyes. "Is that true Shikamaru?"

The black-haired boy grabbed his head in pain, "Choji, you really have to stop believing everything people say. And Ino," Shikamaru lifted his head up and faced the girl, "you really need to stop making such wild accusations."

"But,"

"All I did yesterday was relax in the woods and talk to some kid. Are you going to tell me that's suspicious?"

"Well no, but why didn't you tell us that in the first place?"

"Because talking to you is too troublesome." the boy replied, lying his head on the table.

"Fine, I'll just talk to Choji then."

The two teammates chatted away as their black-haired friend took a nap. When their order would arrive, they would be sure to wake him and continue their day as usual.

* * *

"_Hey Sakura!"_

"_Go away Naruto, I want to be alone!"_

"_But Sakura-"_

"_**I SAID GO AWAY!"**_

The day had reached its middle as the young girl walked down the street. Her memories seemed so detailed, as if they had happened just that day.

"_Sakura, you can't--"_

"_Go away Naruto! How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone?"_

More than anything though, she wished it had been a horrible dream.

"_But I just want to help."_

"_You want to help?! Oh come on Naruto, you and I both know that's not true!"_

His voice pierced her ears, chills started running down her. She didn't want to remember anymore.

"_**I HATE YOU! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL?!"**_

Slowly she reached up and touched her lips, she didn't' want to believe she could have ever said such hurtful things to him. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to shake away those painful memories. It had already been three weeks since she last remembered; she didn't want to have to go through that again. It had been hard on her… but it had been especially hard on him.

"I can't let anyone see me like this," quickly she wiped away her tears and tried to put up a cheerful front. The pink-haired girl didn't want to be spotted looking so sad and hurt. After a few minutes, she began walking again.

"I guess it was silly of me to think I could put this all behind me in less than a year. But, he's making an effort so I should too." Sakura tightened her fist as she thought of her teammate.

It had been hard on him to forget and to deal with everything at once, but she had noticed that within the last month, he'd been able to smile around her a few times. She knew he'd be able to bounce back, and that as time passed by, they'd be the friends they use to be.

"He's been improving a lot ever since I saw him with Hinata. I wonder if he told her what happened? Maybe that's why she's been around him so much. That would explain why he's been so cheerful lately." The young girl gazed upward, a tiny smile forming on her face. "Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad he's happy again". Turning the corner, Sakura made her way into the hospital.

* * *

"So that's all she said?"

"Yes."

"I see."

"That's great right? I mean, we won't have to worry about anything anymore. Right?" the small child looked from one teen to the other.

"I'm not sure," the blond boy pondered, "I mean; we were going to tell grandma Tsunade everything yesterday but now. Now I'm not sure what that would cause."

"Y-yes, bringing Inari in when everyone has just decided to forget about her would cause everyone to be suspicious all over again."

"Then we'd have to go through this all over again, right?" Inari asked.

"Yup, no matter how I see it, it seems we just have bad timing. I mean, what are the odds that we were going to tell the truth right when they decide to have a huge investigation." Naruto remarked.

"I-I think that, for now, we'll just have to keep this a secret. A-at least until everyone forgets about this." Hinata didn't like the idea of keeping Inari a secret for much longer. She had promised her cousin to tell the Hokage the truth. Even her crush had agreed, but Naruto had made a good point. After the search the day before, going to the Hokage and telling her the truth would only cause suspicion.

"Hinata's right, let's give this one more week. That should give granny Tsunade and Sakura enough time to forget about this. Although we'll probably still get our heads chewed off for not telling them in the beginning," the blond sighed.

"Then we'll tell them I didn't let you." Inari stepped in, "After all, it's not a lie. I did say in the beginning that I would run away if I was taken to the Hokage. Even now, I'm not sure I want anyone to know I'm here." Inari gripped her hands together in fear. "S-so, maybe one more week would be good for me. I-I'm sure by then I'll be ready to leave you guys."

Hinata could see the little girl's hesitation and fear. Gently she grabbed Inari's hand and turned the child towards her. "You won't leave us Inari. I-if the Hokage does decide to put you in the orphanage, then I'll come visit you every day. I-I don't want us to say goodbye."

"Hinata's right," Naruto added in, "I'll go visit you too, plus we'll find a way so that you and Miyuki can be together. We're not going to let them take you away unless we know you'll be happy there. "

Inari's eyes widened in awe, she had been so sure that once they parted ways that would be the end of them. Happiness enveloped her face, now knowing she would still be able to see them.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They had a plan; it could not fail. Or so they thought.

Suddenly, a knock came from outside the apartment. Naruto hesitantly and slowly approached the door and opened it.

"Hey Naruto."

The guest was certainly someone they would have never expected. Outside the door was none other than Naruto's teacher, Kakashi Hakate.

"So, who's the old guy?" Inari innocently asked.

"What? He's my teacher, and he's not that old."

It was true, though the man had gray hair he was still in what he considered to be his prime. Though he didn't let the child's comment get to him. Usually, he let nothing get to him.

"Well hey Naruto, what's going on in here?"

"Nothing, why are you here anyway? We gonna do some training?" the blond asked hopefully, it wasn't often his teacher actually wanted to teach him anything, but there was always a chance.

"No way." the man quickly replied. "We have a mission. It seems your constant pestering with the Hokage has finally paid off. As of today, we are going to go on a bodyguard mission."

The blond teen's eyes widened. He was glad that the old lady had finally decided to give him a mission. For the last few weeks, Tsunade had placed him with remedial assignments to do around town. Plus, his current team situation didn't really open up any windows for him. One teammate was gone and the other was busy being an apprentice. Now he'd finally been given a mission. The only problem was the timing, oh how he was starting to loathe the timing. Turning to his right he looked at Inari and Hinata. How could he even think of going off on a mission when he was housing a stray kid?

Concern was written on each of their faces, minus the one confused teacher.

"And so, we'll be gone for a week or so, so make sure to tie up any loose ends before we go." the boy's teacher finished explaining.

"W-wait um, I can't go right now I-"

"Alright then, be at the front gate at seven tonight." Kakashi waved off as he left the boy's apartment.

The remaining people just looked on in shock.

"W-what are we going to do N-naruto?"

"I don't know, I don't think I can reject the mission. If I do they'll wonder why, but there's got to be a way to make this all work." Naruto pondered.

"Well, maybe I can hide in Hinata's house while you're gone." Inari chimed in, "I did always wonder why I couldn't stay there in the first place?"

"Oh well," the shy heiress bit her lip nervously, "M-my father is sort of a strict person. As far as I know he doesn't allow non Hyuugas to live with us." Hinata looked down in sadness.

"Oh," Inari frowned, her last hope crashing down on her.

"Well, maybe he doesn't have to find out." Naruto spoke, "After all, the kid can teleport. If anyone comes near your room, she can just teleport away. I mean, it'll be tough to keep it a secret, but I think it's the only option we have."

* * *

The sun was setting as the blond-haired teen made his way to the gate. When he got there, he was surprised to see his teacher already there.

"What the-, what are you doing here!?"

"What do you mean?'

"You're here on time!?" the blond spoke in amazement.

"Why, when have I ever been late for a mission?" the gray-haired jounin innocently asked.

Naruto held back his rebuttal, instead choosing to start the mission as soon as he could, hoping he could make it back earlier than planned. Unbeknownst to him, his teacher was hoping for the exact same thing.

* * *

"So, where do I put my things?" the tiny child asked as she looked around Hinata's bedroom.

"Um, put your bag in my closet. That way no one can it if they enter my room."

"Do people just come in whenever they want?"

"N-no, anyone that wants to enter my room must knock first. Even then they have to wait until I tell them they can come in." the Hyuuga heiress assured her.

"So, how are we going to get away with this?"

"Well, anytime I go out I'll take you two with me. Now there will be times where I'll have clan duties, that's when you'll have to stay in my room." the young teen spoke, putting away the last of Inari's clothes into her spare drawer. "Nobody ever comes to my room so you won't have to worry about someone finding you. Though we will have to find out a way to get you food before dinner. My family eats together so I'll only be able to sneak you food before then."

"Ok, it'll be a hassle and there might be some close calls but, all in all I think we can do it." Inari cheerfully replied.

Hinata smiled, it seemed that her crushes' optimistic personality had rubbed off a bit on the small girl.

* * *

The next day went off without a hitch.

Sun shone through the heiress' window as the occupants of the room remained still. It wasn't until there was a knock at the door that reality set in on the three.

Getting up to a sitting position, Hinata heard a voice coming from a well-known person.

"Hinata, it seems your teammates are outside waiting for you." the stoic Neji announced, "They are interested in having an early morning training session. Would you like me to tell them to come at a later time?"

"N-no, that's alright," the shy Hyuuga stammered, "T-tell them t-that I'll be there in a b-bit."

Gathering her thoughts, Hinata went to the sleeping child and gently shook her awake.

"Huh, what's going on? Inari groggily asked, her eyes trying to adjust to the light.

"My team is here," Hinata replied, making her way to the bathroom with her usual clothes. As she got ready, Inari slowly got up from bed and made her way to her sleeping pup.

"So what are we going to do?" the small child wondered. "Oh, I know. I'll use my teleporting skills and appear outside the gate."

"I'm not sure," Hinata replied, making her way out of the bathroom. "You might appear in front of someone. We could only do that if we had someone make sure the coast was clear." The blue-haired kunoichi explained as she gathered some clothes for Inari. After handing them to her, she came up with a plan.

"Alright," Inari replied after getting ready, "let's go."

* * *

"Man, I wonder if we came too early." Kiba wondered as he stood outside the Hyuuga compound. Akamaru snuggled inside the boy's coat, yawning in response. Shino, on the other hand, only spoke a muffled 'maybe'.

After a short wait, the heiress' teammates caught sight of the kunoichi.

"Hey Hinata, did we wake you?"

"Y-yes," the teen spoke, catching Kiba's apologetic look. "B-but it's okay Kiba, I usually wake up around this time."

"Alright then let's go." Kiba cheerfully said, leading the way towards the training grounds.

As team eight reached the corner of the street, Hinata stopped walking, causing her teammates to stop as well.

"Is something wrong?" Shino asked.

"Um, I sort of have to wait for someone." Hinata nervously replied.

"Who?" the boys asked at the same time.

Suddenly, a small puppy jumped out from the bushes and approached the heiress.

"Hey isn't that-"

"She's mine," Inari announced, making her way from out of the bushes as well. After sending Miyuki out as lookout, Inari was able to teleport outside of the compound without anyone seeing her.

"Um, I'm sort of having her stay with me while Naruto is away on a mission." Hinata began, telling her teammates the whole story as they made their way to the training grounds.

Their training commenced when their teacher, Kurenai, appeared. It wasn't long before they began sparring with one another that Hinata noticed that Inari wasn't there. The young teen was about to panic when she spots the small child making her way back to them with a smile.

It had turned out that Inari had quickly run to Ichiraku's for some breakfast for her and Miyuki. After eating a few bowls, she quickly ran back, hoping no one would notice.

As soon as the match between Shino and Kiba ended, Kurenai approached the Hyuuga heiress and Inari. "So Hinata, why is this little girl here?"

Before Hinata had a chance to speak, Inari answered the red-eyed jounin. "I'm her friend. I wanted to see her fight so I asked if I could spend the day with her." slowly she approached Kurenai with sad eyes. "Is that okay?"

"Well I don't really see a problem with that, but be sure to be careful and stay near me when they train. Okay?"

"Ok."

After training some more, the team headed out for some lunch. Hinata, not having eaten much but an apple she quickly grabbed before leaving, was relieved to get something into her stomach.

The day quickly ended after that. They said their goodbyes and each headed home, except for Hinata and Inari. After wandering the shops for a short bit, Hinata grabbed Inari a bite before sneaking back into the Hyuuga compound before dinner.

* * *

The next day went pretty much the same. The two girls woke up early and left the compound without being noticed. Training happened after they ate breakfast and ended around lunchtime. After that, the two walked around the village trying to find something to do.

On the third day, Inari came up with an idea.

"You want me to train you?" Hinata said in surprise.

"Yes, I want to get better at teleporting."

"Ok, let me see you teleport to Miyuki."

With a nod, the small girl gathered up her strength and began to glow. Hinata activated her byakugan and watched as Inari teleported to her puppys' side. Afterwards she ran back to Hinata, Miyuki followed behind her.

"Okay Inari, I see how it works."

"You do? How?" the child inquired.

Hinata went on to explain her families' ability, the byakugan, to Inari.

"How cool, so what did you see?"

"Um, it looked like you were using too much or your chakra to teleport. If we're going to train, the first step will be to teach you basic chakra control." Hinata explained. The heiress then went into detail about chakra and its uses. The rest of the day was used to explain how Inari could use her ability and how much she would improve after getting some training.

* * *

The next day, Hinata and Inari worked long and hard on basic chakra control. It was hard on the four year old, but her determination kept her trying and trying. By the next day, she would be able to improve her range of teleportation a bit. Not to mention she would be able to teleport a bit faster without getting worn out as much. Her ability was still far from being perfected, but the tiny child would continue to train and improve. At her request, they trained as much as they could. Inari didn't want to waste anytime; she had a goal in mind.

It surprised Hinata how much of an interest the small child was having on all the ninja stuff. It hadn't been long since she had hated them and wanted nothing to do with them. Now, after meeting Hinata and Naruto, her views had pretty much changed. At this point, Inari wanted nothing more but to improve and become more like them.

* * *

"Man did that take a long time."

"Not really, we finished in record time."

"Well we would have finished faster if you weren't so slow."

"You know I really don't understand you sometimes. I thought you would have been happy to be out in the fresh air, showing off your skills."

"I… That would be true any other time, but right now, I have to get back to something. Now let's go!"

* * *

"Alright now, let's try it again."

"Right."

Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as she concentrated. This distance would take some focus.

With a slight glow of green, the small child vanished from her position. The blue-haired teen ran towards the woods.

Reaching the designated spot, she was slightly startled by a tiny figure leaping up at her. "I did it!" she screamed.

"Y-you sure did Inari, you're improving quite fast." the heiress said with a tender smile.

"Well it's all thanks to your teaching skills. You really make it easy to understand, plus you're quick to catch any mistakes."

The two girls smiled warmly at each other. Their small bond was growing stronger as the days went by.

"Alright, now let's try a longer distance."

With a nod, Inari closed her eyes and focused. As the hours went by, they went through their new schedule. First, they would see how far Inari could teleport without getting tired. Then they would spend some time trying to improve her chakra control. Afterwards they would try to improve her teleporting speed. By the end of the day, her skills would show moderate improvement. Given her age and knowledge, her skills were quite impressive.

"You really are doing quite well; I remember when I had trouble training with my father." Hinata said, a hint of sadness tinting her words.

"Wow, so you also trained when you were my age." Inari's eyes widened in amazement, "Do all kids train so young?"

"No, most only start taking an interest at this age, but some are made to train young. L-like my clan, who trains their children young so they can be the best. Not everyone does it, but some parents do it so their children are better and stronger than the others."

"Oh, so if I practice long and hard, I can be as strong as you?"

"Um well, I-I don't think I'm very strong, b-but you will be in a higher level than most your age." the Hyuuga teen blushed.

"Well, I haven't really seen you fight much, but I bet you are. **He** even said you were strong." Inari said with a smile.

"H-he?"

"Yeah, Naruto. I asked him one night if you guys would be strong enough to keep me safe and he said of course." Inari recalled the blonds' words, _'You bet, I'm one of the strongest ninja in all the village, plus Hinata's got some strength of her own. You can count on us Kid!'_

"N-naruto s-said I'm s-strong?" the heiress whispered back, her cheeks now burning hot.

"Hey, what's wrong? Is training over?" Inari looked up at the blushing teen.

"Uh, what?" Hinata cleared her thoughts, "Oh, well after lunch we'll go over the last part of our training. Okay?"

"Okay."

Calling her pup from over the field, Inari quickly scooped up Miyuki and ran to Hinata's side. They made their way to a nearby restaurant just in time for lunch.

"Man, I know we've only been training for two day, but I can't wait to show Naruto how much better I've gotten." Inari cheerfully said. It was apparent how eager she was to see the blond return. But she wasn't the only one.

With a blush dusting her cheeks she smiled, "Y-yes, I'm sure he'll be impressed."

"You think so." Inari's eyes grew wider.

"Y-yes, even I'm impressed. Your determination and tough training is really paying off."

"Well I have to get stronger," Inari spoke, a determined look in her eyes, "I mean, I'm glad to have you two here to protect me, but I have to be able to protect myself. Other wise I could find myself in serious trouble."

Miyuki barked in agreement.

Following their meal, they decided to stop by a small shop and look around. After finding what they needed, Inari led the way to the training grounds.

"And after that I think--"

"**You there!"**

The two girls turned their heads and saw a man running towards them. Inari stood paralyzed in fear, "I-it's h-him."

Hinata looked towards the man and then back to the Inari. Without hesitation, she picked up the child and the pup and ran in the opposite direction.

"Inari," the heiress spoke as she ran, "Who is that man, and why are you afraid of him?"

"H-he's the one, the one who chased me into the alley. He knows who I am." she whispered, trying to find her voice. "And if he catches me, he'll take me away from you guys!"

Hinata hastened her pace, making her way through the crows and shops, hoping that all the twists and turns would make the man lose track of them. By the chuunin vest he was sporting, Hinata could only hope his skill and speed wasn't that much more than hers was.

* * *

"Alright, we're almost there!" the boy exclaimed.

"Yes we are," the jounin sighed. "This girl sure must be important to you if you're in this much of a rush to see her."

"Wha?" fear crept through the boys' face.

"So, Naruto, who is she?" the copy ninja said with a smile, somewhat curious to who it could be.

The boy rapidly tried to think of an answer. "um…"

To his teacher, it appeared that the boy was just embarrassed to be found out rushing home to see a girl. Unbeknownst to him, the girl was not quite who he thought she was.

While one thought they were talking about a child, the other thought they were talking about a young lady.

"Well?"

"It's not what you think okay. I just want to get home before my new plant dies," the teen explained.

"Plant?"

"Yeah, I got the plant the day before we left and I sort of forgot to tell someone to water it. That's why I want to get home; I want to make sure it's okay." the blond smiled, quite proud of his quick explanation. He was getting better at coming up with things on the spot.

"Oh, well it's probably dead by now. Plants can't live that long without water."

"Hey, don't say that, It couldn't still be alive!" he huffed, standing up for his non-existing plant.

The jounin sighed, deciding the argument wasn't worth his effort. Onward they continued, in silence.

Their journey soon ended as they made it past their village gates. With one-step in the young teen collided with a powerful force.

Slowly he rose, his hand on his head. Falling to the ground after getting the wind knocked out of him was not quite what he had rushed home for. Opening his eyes, he came across two pairs of eyes.

"Naruto." they both spoke out.

There, on top of the blond, were Hinata and Inari. With a smile, the boy greeted the girls. The girls smiled back.

The happy reunion, however, came to a quick halt as a group of men surrounded them.

Confused and still lying on the ground with Hinata, Inari and Miyuki on top of him, the blond turned to the heiress for answers.

Hesitantly Hinata spoke, "I-I'm sorry Naruto, I failed."

Before he could even ask, Inari answered his question. "We've been found out. They know who I am."

* * *

Phew, I'm finally done with this chapter.

Between holidays and family stuff, there really wasn't much time to finish this.

Figures that right when I decide to finish this, all this stuff pops up.

How sad, I really wanted to post this before the New Year L

Well, sorry for the wait. I hope that you'll be satisfied til the next chapter comes out. (Though the cliffhanger sure won't help the wait XD)

It's a bit longer than what I usually write. Probably since I ended up adding a lot of stuff. This has sure taken a new direction from before. Who knew that in one chapter so much would change? Well, with any luck none of them were good ideas.

Next chapter I'll explain some of the changes. Comment if you like. Sometimes I update faster if I know someone is reading.

Thanks for the support; I hope my writing doesn't disappoint you.

Speaking of which, has it gotten better? Or am I lacking something that could really bring my story to life?

I'll admit I lack the skill to be descriptive.

Your thoughts?


	14. New beginnings, new feelings

Disclaimer: Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

Note: First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Some was planned but lately a lot has been added and many changes have occurred. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as I get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one)

* * *

All right, I'm super pumped!

I'm getting so many ideas on what to add and what to do next.

Let's hope I find the right words to express it all.

Wish me luck, and enjoy!

P.S: Been over a year since I've written this story. Made a pic with Inari and Miyuki to celebrate. Check it out on my Deviant Art account if you want.

Also, it's been awhile since they told me they'd see about unblocking and they haven't unblocked it. Not sure what's going on there but this means that I'll only be able to update on my friend's computer. (which won't be that often) I'm sorry. I'll try to write a lot so when I do go to her house I can update!

_**Chapter 14**_

New beginnings, new feelings

The place was quiet; it felt like time had stopped.

No one moved, no one spoke, the place felt eerie.

Naruto tried to think but his brain had shut off. What would they do now? How could they get out of this mess?

"Naruto," the gray-haired jounin spoke, "what is all this?'"

The blond-haired boy stared up as his teacher, and then looked back to the girls. There, still on top of him, they made no attempt to move. He could tell they were scared. Slowly he attempted to rise, gently helping the girls up as well. "Well, you tell me. Cause I just got here."

"Well, according to this man here, that little child next to you is the 'spy' everyone was looking for." Kakashi sighed, so much for his plans to get home early.

"Is that so." the boy feigned ignorance. "She looks like a regular kid to me."

"Oh yeah, well explain that to the Hokage." a serious voice laced his words. "Unless, you don't have anything to do with this? If that's the case then Hinata and the girl will go on their own." nodding to the other men. The two men nodded back and made their way behind the heiress and the child.

"No!" the blond quickly step in between the men and the girls. "I'll go with them; it was all my idea anyway."

With a nod from his teacher, the men backed off and let the kids go on their own. He trusted Naruto to do the right thing.

* * *

"Hey billboard brow! You gonna move or will I have to move ya!"

"What did you say Ino pig!"

"Oh what's the matter, is that huge forehead of yours blocking all the sound from going to your ears!" the blonde grinned in amusement.

"Why you!" the pink-haired girl raised her fists in anger.

"Knock it off you two and get back to work." Shizune barked, she didn't really mind when they argued a bit, but this had been going on the whole day. It seemed that right when Sakura came, the first thing she did was pick a fight with Ino.

The kunoichi had her reasons though. Fighting the blonde teen always seemed to get her mind off of her problems. Todays had been even worse than a few days ago. Sakura had messed up so many times that day and she was starting to get frustrated by it all. **"Augh! I can't believe I had that dream again!"**

"What dream?" Ino asked, returning from dropping off some medical supplies.

The teen cringed; she hadn't realized she had spoken aloud.

"What it about _him_ again?"

Hesitantly, the girl nodded. "Yeah, this time it was worse."

"Look, he made his choice, no one could convince him. It would have been pointless to chase after him." the blonde reassured,

"I know, but I can't help feeling like there was something I could have done. M-maybe, I shouldn't have told Naruto anything. H-he had a right to run after him if he wanted to. All I did was cause pain for the both of us!" the young girl sobbed.

"Sakura…" not knowing what to say, Ino gently wrapped her arms around her quiet friend. It was best if she just let her cry it all out.

* * *

Quietly, the made their way to the Hokage.

Each step bringing them closer to their separation. Inari walked with Miyuki in her arms. The two teens could see they were quivering in fear.

Naruto was walking in front of them, Hinata was a few steps behind him, and Inari was behind her.

"N-naruto?" the heiress whispered, head looking down to the ground.

"Yeah?" he replied, voice almost drained of all emotion.

"Um, I-I'm sorry. I-f I would have been more careful then Inari would have never been found." the Hyuuga spoke, a few tears escaping her eyes.

"Nah, don't worry about it. We would have been found eventually."

"But,"

"It's too late to change anything, let's just face the music and see what happens."

"O-okay."

* * *

The office desk remained untouched, piles of paperwork threatened to fall to the floor. The dark-haired assistant sighed as she scanned the room.

There, lying under the endless mess of paper, was the culprit. Brushing away the files and documents, the hokage had decided to drink a bit of sake before tackling any of the day's paperwork. Fortunately for her, she had a bit too much and ended up falling asleep at her desk.

"Lady Tsunade wake up!" Shizune huffed, setting her pig, Ton ton, on the ground. Walking to the hokage's side, the young woman shook the sleeping drunk awake.

"Huh? Wah?" groggily, Tsunade came too, bringing her hand up to her head. Luckily, she didn't have a headache. Mostly due to the fact she had fallen asleep due to just being tired.

"Geez, you've already wasted half the day sleeping. You know you'll have twice as much work to do now," the dark-haired woman pointed out.

"Alright I get it, I'll get to work right away." the blonde-haired woman replied.

"Too late, someone's here to talk to you."

"What? Who?" Tsunade asked in surprise.

Without answering, Shizune led Naruto and the girls in.

"Naruto? Okay brat, what'd you do this time?" she said with a smirk.

"Um, nothing bad. At least, I don't think I did the wrong thing."

Confused by his tone of voice, Tsunade motioned them to sit down. All three took a seat silently. Trying to lighten the mood, Tsunade spoke, "So, who's the kid? Don't tell me you and Hinata had a child together?"

The teens remained with a solemn look. This took Tsunade by surprise, seeing that not even Hinata managed to blush, even a little.

"Alright Naruto, what's going on?"

"Well, we've sort of been hiding something from everyone." the blond began.

"I see," the blonde-haired woman sported a serious face, "Go on."

"And, this girl here," he motioned for Inari, "Is what we've been hiding."

Rising in shock, the hokage slammed her hands on the desk. "Naruto, don't tell me you two actually did have a child together!" The news was unexpected, to say the least. How on earth was she going to explain this to Hiashi!"

"No!" the blond huffed, "Geez, take a good look at her! Does she even look like us?"

Tsunade turned the tiny child; he did make a point. The girl had brown hair and brown eyes, if she had been theirs, she would have at least gotten one of their eye colors. However, the hair was around the shade as Hinata's father, Hiashi. "Okay, sorry about that. I guess I jumped to conclusions." Relief took her over as she sat back down on her chair. "Alright then, who is this child?"

"S-she's an orphan, I-I found her outside the gates and brought her to the hospital." Hinata spoke, taking the small child's hand in reassurance. "S-she's the child you've been looking for. W-we're the one's who have been hiding her all this time."

"You what!?" The older woman fumed.

"Yeah, b-but she's not who you think she is!" the blond-haired boy yelled, not wanting to give her time to suspect the child.

"I'm not anyone dangerous." the tiny child spoke up, clinging to her puppy. "I just didn't want to go to that place. They tried to take away Miyuki, plus…" tears started escaping her eyes, "Plus, I don't want to get adopted!" Inari cried.

"Hinata told me all about it and that's when I offered to hide her at my place," the blonde teen added.

"I see, so you acted on complete impulse, not taking into consideration what was best for the child." Tsunade spoke, anger seeping from all around her.

The girls cringed in fear.

"Well, we were going to tell you the truth, but then you had to go and consider her dangerous and send people around looking for her. You drew us into a corner, what were we suppose to do!" Naruto retorted.

"The responsible thing! You should have told me right from the get-go!"

"They were going to but I didn't let them!" Inari butted in.

"I see, and you two just let a young child boss you around like that?" she shot back, dissatisfied at the two teens.

"Well, she threatened to run away again. Normally it'd be no problem to catch a kid, but she can teleport away. How would we find her if she did that?" Naruto pointed out.

"Teleport?" Tsunade questioned.

"Y-yes, she glows green and then vanishes. It happened when a ninja cornered her into an alley."

"Oh, that explains the man's report." Tsunade leaned back as she took it all in. After questioning them a bit more and hearing their whole story, she came to a conclusion. Naruto and the rest all leaned forward, awaiting her reply.

"Well, I've decided to give you all the benefit of the doubt and believe your story. However, Inari will have no choice but to go to the orphanage. A child this young cannot be in the custody of two teens. I'm sorry everyone, but this has to be done."

Inari looked down in sadness, she knew this day would eventually come, she had just hoped it was a long time away.

"But grandma Tsunade, are you saying you're just going to separate them and send Inari off to get adopted by some couple!"

"Of course not brat, there's no reason to separate them. The old director has retired so there's no longer a no pets rule." the hokage calmly replied, "And well, Inari's still young, so there is a good chance she will be adopted, but that's just bound to happen eventually. Right?"

"I guess, but she's just not ready yet."

"She will be Naruto, besides, if she doesn't want to be adopted, she can just hide somewhere. If she's that determined to remain without parents, I'm sure she'll find a way." Tsunade chuckled.

"Yeah, guess that's true."

Hinata and Inari nodded to each other, a small smile present on their faces.

"Now, you two," the hokage pointed to the two teens, "I trust you can take her to the orphanage without pulling a stunt. Right?"

"I-inari?" Hinata looked to the child; she would not force her to go with them.

Inari looked up at the young heiress and smiled, "I'm okay." Both teens let out a sigh of relief. "Just promise me you'll come and visit, okay?"

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other and smiled, "Of course shrimp, we'll be sure to visit every day. I did say you wouldn't be able to get rid of us that easily. Right Hinata?"

"Y-yes," Hinata said with a blush.

Inari looked up at the two and smiled the happiest smile she could muster. It was all she could do to keep from crying. "a-and, will you still train me?"

Both blonds turned to the heiress, "Um, o-of course."

"Training?"

"Yeah, what training?"

"Oh um, w-while you were gone Naruto, I-I've sort of been training Inari on basic chakra control."

"I see, you better have her teach you too brat, last I heard you had terrible chakra control." Tsunade said with a grin.

The blond-haired teen remained quiet, deciding to ignore the hokage's comment. Instead, he just crossed his arms and started walking out the door.

"Hey brat, don't forget your kid!" the blonde woman remarked, finding this the perfect time to tease the boy. "You can't leave Hinata to do all the work. After all if you didn't want a kid, you should have knocked Hinata up!"

This caused the blond boy to run back into the office with a red face. "S-stop saying me and Hinata made a kid granny! People are going to start believe it's true you know!"

"Oh yeah? Guess you're right," the hokage stared up at the ceiling, a hand on her chin, "Sakura did mention something about seeing you two together a lot lately."

Both teens looked away from each other in embarrassment.

"Cut it out granny! If Hinata's father hears you say this who knows what will happen!"

"Oh I know what would happen, you'd be attacked for touching his eldest daughter and impregnating her at such a young age." Tsunade said with a smile.

The blond teen gulped, could he really get in trouble if he just touched Hinata? Thinking back to the times where Hinata had fallen on him or fainted, he gulped again. _'I hope he doesn't find out about all that, I don't want to die before I even get to be Hokage. Aw man, why'd Hinata have to have such a scary dad.'_

"I-it's alright Naruto, you haven't done anything wrong. F-father has no reason to get mad at you." Hinata reassured the boy.

"Yeah, relax brat. Save your worrying for when he sees you two out on a date." the blonde hokage chuckled.

"What are you talking about granny?"

"Well, Sakura mentioned that you two went out to eat a couple of nights ago."

"B-but that wasn't a date! Why does everyone keep saying that!" the boy huffed in embarrassment, he wondered how they would react if they knew about the time he had held Hinata's hand all the way to his apartment. The blond glanced down at his hand; he could still remember her warm touch. With red cheeks, the boy shook away his thoughts, deciding to look down at the ground rather than at the young heiress.

"Alright Naruto, I guess I've teased you long enough. Why don't you go take Inari to the orphanage and head home? You did just come back from a mission. And earlier than expected too."

Pouting, the boy grabbed the two girls and led them out the door. He had had enough of that.

"Heh, that'll teach the boy to keep calling me granny." the female hokage laughed, reaching into her desk drawer for some sake.

* * *

The blond walked with a pout, grumbling all the way out of the building. "Why does every person we run into have to tease us like that. I'm getting pretty annoyed."

"Well, from what they say you two don't usually hang out a lot. So now that they see you two together they can only assume it's because you two are a couple." Inari pointed out.

Naruto grumbled again, "Yeah, well no one ever said anything when I was hanging out with Sakura."

"Oh, were you two a couple?" the child questioned.

"No she was my teammate. I liked her but she didn't like me. At least not in that way." the blond sighed.

"Naruto…"

"Well it's alright, I've got you two now." the boy cheerfully replied.

"Heh, if you say it like that then people are going to be sure you two are together." Inari smirked.

For the hundredth time that day, the male teen blushed. It seemed he couldn't say anything without someone thinking it meant something else. "You know what; I think I'm just going to keep my mouth shut! That way no one can put words in my mouth."

"We'll see how long that lasts," Inari remarked, "my money's on two seconds."

"Why you-"

"Hey I was right!" the child said proudly.

Naruto angrily lunged at the child, only to land face first on the cement. "Darn you."

"Hey, I told you I've gotten better." Inari called out to the boy.

Standing up, the boy saw the small child a few meters away. She was holding her pup and grinning at him.

"Well, it seems you have gotten better, and faster too." Naruto said proudly. "Keep it up shrimp."

Inari looked at the boy happily, she couldn't wait to get better and really wow the boy.

Now with a lighter mood, they all made their way to the orphanage. Parting would be sad, but they knew they'd see each other every day.

* * *

After being introduced to all the kids and staff, they were taken to their rooms to sleep. The next day turned out better than Inari had expected. Everyone at the orphanage was so friendly and understanding. Inari wondered if they had been as nice when Naruto was younger. The staff were all pretty young so it seemed unlikely that any of them had been working back then. The small girl's thoughts were soon stopped when a familiar voice came through the door.

"Hey brat, how you doing?"

With a smile spreading thought her face; Inari ran up to the blond teen and grabbed his arm. "Y-you actually came." she said in disbelief.

"Of course, what'd you think would happen?" the boy grinned.

"Well, I kind of expected you to sleep in and forget about coming." the child said truthfully.

Naruto flinched, "Uh well, I kinda did over sleep."

"Um, h-he was p-pretty out of it when I went to see him." a shy voice spoke up, appearing behind the blond.

"Oh is that so?" Inari looked at the boy with a smug face. Naruto would have surely retaliated if the child hadn't secured herself in between the Hyuuga's arms. "So how'd you wake him up?"

"W-well after I knocked for a bit and there was no answer I used the spare key Naruto gave me a while ago." the heiress shyly spoke. "I called out to him but I didn't get a response, s-so I went to his room and knocked on the door."

"Yeah, that was when I finally woke up." the blond said with a sheepish grin.

"Heh, sounds like you were **really** out of it. Were you having a good dream?" Inari questioned.

"Well, now that you mention it I was." Naruto pondered a bit, "Let's see, I was walking around in the dark when I heard a noise. After walking a bit I came to this waterfall, and near the waterfall was this beautiful woman. Hmm, now that I think about it I think there was a mission where something like that happened. Hey Hinata do you-- Hinata?"

Turning to his Hyuuga friend, he saw her burning bright red from head to toe.

Inari backed away so she could get a better look at the trembling teen.

The shy heiress swayed back and forth as the blond walked up to her. With his face closing in on hers, Hinata let go of the last bit of consciousness she had and fainted.

Naruto was able to catch her as she had luckily fainted in his direction. Had it been someone other that Hinata, you'd almost think it was on purpose. Catching her in his arms, the blond gently laid her next to the nearby wall.

"Well that was weird, I wonder if she's sick?" the puzzled boy pondered.

"Maybe," Inari sighed, "But somehow I have this strange feeling it was your fault."

"What? What'd I do?"

"Don't ask me, ask Hinata."

With that the boy pouted as he stared at the fainted heiress. _'I didn't do anything; all I was doing was talking about my dream.' _the blond smiled, _'that was a pretty good dream though, although I wonder who was at the waterfall? Guess I'll never know.'_

The young Hyuuga came to a few minutes later. When asked why she had fainted she blushed and tried to dismiss it as nothing. Naruto quickly accepted it as another of Hinata's weird quirks. Inari, however, was not so quick to let the matter drop.

"Oh come on, tell me why you fainted. This bonehead had something to do with it right?" the child asked excitedly.

Hinata could only blush as she looked up at her crush. She couldn't deny that it he had been the reason. "U-um, w-well…"

"I knew it!" the child exclaimed.

"What? I didn't do anything you brat!"

"But Hinata just said-"

"She didn't say anything!" with a small pout, Naruto turned to the young kunoichi. "Tell her Hinata; tell her I didn't do anything."

The blue-haired heiress just blushed more as the boy's sapphire eyes stared right at her. _'w-what so I do now?' _she though to herself. _'I c-cant tell him the truth, I-it's too embarrassing.' _Hinata thought back to the mission the blond had dreamed about. Naruto and her team had been sent out to find a rare beetle. On their way to the destination where the beetle resided in, Hinata had found a waterfall where she could practice her new fighting style. The young girl had decided to practice while the boys where asleep due to the circumstances in which she was practicing in. Had she known that her crush would stumble into her training that day, she would have surely had some clothes on. Hinata blushed a bright red, _'I-I c-c-can't believe h-he s-saw me like t-that'_ she thought to herself. The Hyuuga didn't know what to be more embarrassed by; the fact that Naruto had seen her dancing in the water like that, or the fact that he had referred to her as a beautiful woman. Hinata tried to compose herself as she started to feel lightheaded again.

"Hinata, are you sure you're okay?" the blond asked as he saw the girl's face light up.

Shaking her thoughts away she replied, "I-I'm fine really, w-why don't we go outside for a bit. M-maybe I just need some fresh air." Hinata smiled, hoping the change in subject would end the embarrassing ordeal once and for all.

Glancing at each other for a minute, both Naruto and Inari shrugged it off and made their way outside.

With a sigh of relief, Hinata followed behind.

They day continued quite well after that. As night approached they all said their goodbyes and headed home.

* * *

Unbeknownst to anyone, in the quiet town of Konoha, two teens drift to sleep with the same thoughts in their head. A lingering memory they could not shake away.

Only one knows the whole truth as she shifts in her bed, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

Meanwhile the other dreamer is sleeping with a grin on his face. Though he knows not the identity of the one in his dream, her beauty is not something he can easily shake.

Within a moments notice, the boy suddenly awakes. "That's weird," he says to himself, "I don't know why, but there was something about that girl that seemed familiar."

Shrugging the thought away, he lays back into bed and once again, drifts to sleep.

* * *

Well that scene with Tsunade sure dragged on. I guess I was kinda enjoying embarrassing Naruto that I just kept going and going. Maybe I went too far and they started sounding out of character? I hope not. Sometimes I worry I change Naruto too much. I don't want to stray from his personality so much but he is going to change a bit.

This one came out really quickly, except for the last part at the orphanage. I kinda got stuck there. Then when I started writing it, it just kept going and going. One thing led to another and I ended up with a whole unplanned scene.

So now, the next chapter will be what I wasn't able to fit in here. I'll try to add enough scenes to make it at least 3,000 words. (which is the average amount I'd like for each chapter to have)

FYI, in case anyone is interested. Inari wasn't originally going to go to the orphanage. She was going to go somewhere else, but I decided to toss that idea. I think it's better now, it helps speed the time up and add more things in between this and the next part. (Book 2)

Originally she was going to be hidden all through book 1.

Let's see, I've added a lot of new stuff, which is great cause I had no clue what to write. It was all going to be boring stuff. I'll probably still put some of the stuff in later. Well, we'll see what I come up with.

Also, hope I'm not confusing everyone with all the little side parts I'm writing.

One minute it's on Naruto and Hinata, and then next it's on team 9 or something.

I'm only doing that cause I don't want it to just center on a few people.

Wasn't planning this in the beginning but now I want to do it like this. I hope no one minds, I just like it better this way.

It'll only be a few sentences here or there. Mostly cause I can't think of anything really interesting to write for all the team members.

Also, just so you know, I'm probably not going to pair up anyone but Naruto and Hinata. The only other one I'm particular about can't be done here. Besides, I don't think I'm confident enough to pair anyone else. I'm no romance expert. All I can hope is that I don't screw up pairing these two up. .

Well enough babbling, sorry, I tend to ramble on and on and …. You get the idea.

Comment if you can, I might not be able to respond right now but I do read and much appreciate every comment! Ask me questions if you don't get a certain scene. I'll try to answer them quickly.

Ps: Does the whole Inari training and improving thing seem possible?

She's four so she can't be too good. I just want her to get the hang of her ability. I'll have to work on that so it doesn't sound like she's getting real strong. *Sigh* yet another thing to work on.


	15. A Moment's Peace

Disclaimer: Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

Note: First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Some was planned but lately a lot has been added and many changes have occurred. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as I get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one)

* * *

_Wow, another chapter written! I'm on a roll right now! Better keep writing while I still have the inspiration!_

_Hope everyone's enjoying this._

_Thanks for taking the time to read my story._

_As always, I hope not to disappoint you._

_I'm giving it all I can._

_**WARNING! Chapter is longer than usual because of my unplanned adding of scenes.**_

_**Had to cram it all in since I didn't want to use another chapter just to finish something I had originally planned to be a nice and brief summary of the following couple of days.**_

_**Well okay, it's only about 6,000 words. It would have been longer but I decided to jump ahead a couple of days.**_

_Ps. I decided to write a one-shot while I took a quick break from this chapter. Read it if you want. Sorry if there's not much NaruHina fluffiness. _

_This and the other story were done on Feb 27 and 28th but like i've said. the public library doesn't let me on this site so i can only submit when i go to my friend's house. (which is very rare)_

_my apologies_

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_A moment's peace_

Inari ran happily down the hallway as a group of children chased after her.

She had been chosen 'it' for this round and was determined to win no matter what.

"It's no use we almost got ya!" a shorthaired girl called out.

"That's what you think!" Inari grinned as she turned a corner and made it outside the building.

The orphanage had turned out not to be as bad as she had imagine. Everyone was friendly towards her and she was able to make friends quickly. This would be her fifth day here.

The orphanage contained about 20 orphans, all from the ages of 4 to 15.

"Ha! I made it!" Inari said victoriously, holding up the flag for all to see.

"Aw, you got lucky is all." huffed a skinny boy.

"Heh, you're just angry you couldn't outrun such a tiny girl," teased a girl with long blonde braids.

"Aw, she wouldn't a won if she was just running like the rest of us."

"But we all agreed, since she's the youngest and the smallest she can use her ability once. And you know she's only allowed to use it to go a few feet ahead."

"Yeah, but that only proves I didn't get beat by no girl." the boy pointed out; "I got beat by her ability.

The girl rolled her eyes while the boy continued his rant.

Inari smiled, she had seen those two fight a lot in just the few days she had been there. They were nine years old and the oldest ones in the group. Usually, the children were divided into two groups. One group contained all the kids below ten and the other contained the rest. This was not arranged by the caretaker, it was something the kids did on their own. Inari wondered if the two fighting would soon leave the group when they turned ten next year.

"Oh yeah, well let's see you try being it!" the boy yelled.

"Alright then, you're on!" the girl retorted.

The group of children followed behind the two older kids as the new match had begun.

Tired from running, Inari sat down by the steps and stroked her sleeping pup. Miyuki had been running around all day and finally collapsed an hour before. Everyone in the group loved to play with her and usually passed her around for various activities. There was only so much the young pup could take.

"They really tired you out today huh?" Inari caressed Miyuki, "First it was fetch, then catch, hide and seek and then treasure hunt." Inari giggled, "I still can't believe they buried a roll of toilet paper."

* * *

"Hey you guys, wait up!" a voiced called out to the two teens.

Naruto and Hinata stopped and waited as their pink-haired friend caught up to them.

"Hello, Sakura."

"Sakura, what's up?"

"Nothing really, I was on my way home when I saw you two. Where are you going?"

"To the orphanage to see Inari." Naruto replied.

Everyone involved in the 'spy' case had been informed of the misunderstanding the day after Inari was found out. The council members were not happy with it all and wanted some action to be taken. This of course was because Naruto, the Kyuubi container, was involved in it all. They didn't like Naruto, that was obvious, so they accused him of pulling a prank on everyone. Tsunade had a hard time convincing them all it was not a prank.

Eventually they all settled down and went on to matters that are more important.

When Sakura found out, she had been furious. As soon as she saw her teammate, she had him plastered on the ground. Yelling at him for wasting her time and being a bonehead. Afterwards she told him she would treat him to ramen.

Naruto was confused about her proposal but agreed anyway. Sakura explained that while what he did was reckless, it was kind of him to help Hinata out like that.

"Hey, you guys mind if I come with you?" Sakura smiled.

"Not at all." Hinata replied.

The three genin made their way onward. Hinata led the way as Naruto and Sakura trailed behind.

"Geez, I still can't believe you had a little girl in your apartment all this time Naruto. How she managed to stay alive is beyond me." the pink-haired girl quipped.

"Hey I did a pretty good job taking care of her!"

"Cha, only cause Hinata was there to help you." Sakura grinned, "And here I though you two were actually together."

"Well now you know the truth! Me and Hinata were only hanging out together cause of the kid."

"I know, it's so sad." the pink-haired kunoichi sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, eventually Inari will leave the orphanage and start a new life. What reason will you have then to see Hinata every day?"

Naruto's eyes widened, it hadn't even occurred to him of the possibility that things would eventually change. Though he should have known better, things never stay pleasant for him for much time. However, deep inside the blond teen, there was unfamiliar pain surfacing. It was so small though; that the boy merely thought it was a sadness one gets when a friend leaves.

Sakura soon regretted her words as she looked at her blond friend. His face had gone serious and his eyes had lost their usual vibrant color, _'Darn it, nice going Sakura! Why do you always have to say things that hurt him!' _she berated herself. "I'm sorry Naruto, I-"

"It's okay Sakura, you're right after all. Eventually, she'll leave me too."

"No she won't Naruto, she l-," the pink-haired teen stopped in mid-sentence. _'Oh man, I almost told him that Hinata likes him!' _she gasped, placing her hand over her mouth.

"She what Sakura?"

Sakura turned to her male friend, a nervous smile present on her face. "Uh, she… she'll probably still want to hang out with you. You two were friends before Inari came, if anything your friendship should only grow right?"

"You think?"

"Yeah, but I will tell you this," Sakura turned very serious and held up a finger in front of her blond friend. "Hinata is a shy person, she's not the type to approach someone for no reason, understand?"

Seeing Naruto's 'not really' expression, Sakura went into detail.

"Well, all this time that you two have been taking care of the kid, Hinata always comes to you right?"

"Yeah."

"Now normally, Hinata would be too shy to do that, don't you agree."

"I guess so," thinking back, Hinata did have a habit of hiding posts and what not when she spoke to him.

"Look, what I said before, I only said that cause I thought you wouldn't want to see Hinata anymore. I mean, you didn't exactly try to get to know her before. I thought you'd want to go back to training or ramen. However, if you still want to hang out with her you'll have to let her know. Otherwise, when Inari leaves, Hinata will just assume that things should go back to how they were before.

"I get it," the teen nodded; "I guess that makes sense, Hinata would probably think that." he had grown to understand the shy heiress a little more since Inari came. One thing was sure, Hinata always worried about bothering him. Every day when she would go to his apartment, she'd apologize for the inconvenience. So it made sense what Sakura was saying. "Okay, I'll make sure to talk to her about it later." he grinned.

Sakura smiled warmly, "I'm happy to see you getting along so well with her Naruto."

"Of course, Hinata's really nice. How could I not get along with her." walking a bit ahead he chuckled, "She's not at all like a certain short-tempered girl I know."

"WHAT WAS THAT!" the furious kunoichi yelled, running towards her teammate.

Naruto quickly ran to Hinata and hid behind her.

"Oh Hinata," Sakura grinned, seeing the perfect opportunity for payback. "Have you seen Naruto? He's so short I've managed to lose sight of him."

"Hey I'm not that short!" the blond shot back, walking up to his pink-haired friend.

"Maybe not, but you sure aren't tall either. Better eat right Naruto; otherwise you'll be short well into adulthood." Sakura pointed out.

"Hey I eat right."

"Ramen isn't the only thing you should eat Naruto. You have to eat in a balanced way." Sakura scolded

"Whatever." he huffed.

"W-well, N-naruto has been eating well lately." Hinata shyly pointed out.

"Huh, oh yeah," Naruto smiled, "That's cause you're a really good cook. I'm telling you Hinata, you're gonna be one heck of a wife someday."

"Wow Naruto, I didn't think you'd be so forward." Sakura grinned.

"Huh?" the boy questioned, "what do you mean?"

"Geez Naruto, do you even listen to what you say." the shorthaired kunoichi sighed.

"He has a habit of saying things people often misinterpret." a tiny voice spoke from in front of them.

The three genin turned to see a small girl standing there, a puppy at her side.

"Hey shrimp," Naruto smiled, walking up to the little girl. "What are you talking about now?"

"Well, you told Hinata she'd be one heck of a wife. Someone could misconstrue that as you saying she'd be a great wife, for you."

"What!" the blond blushed, "I-I didn't say that!"

"Well you didn't really, but taken out of context one could think you did." Inari smiled, seeing the embarrassed teen's face.

"Yeah, just look at Hinata; she looks like she could pass out any second." Sakura said, suppressing a snicker.

Naruto turned to the Hyuuga heiress, quickly noticing her red face and surprised expression. From previous experiences with her, he knew they were the classic signs that she would faint. Without saying anything, he led her to the front steps of the orphanage.

Slowly Hinata sat down and tried to calm herself. She had blushed when he complimented her cooking. When he said she'd be a great wife, she felt on cloud nine. It was when Inari and Sakura had said his comment could be misinterpreted at something else that she came close to fainting. To even think of being Naruto's wife was enough to send her head spinning.

Everyone could see Hinata's cheeks burn red as she smiled, eyes closed in thought. With a sigh Sakura introduced herself to Inari and led her away, deciding now was the best time to get to know the child better.

Naruto stood there, unsure of what to do. With a shrug, he sat down beside Hinata and drifted to sleep. When he awoke, he found himself in a comfortable position.

His head was lying on a soft surface while he felt a slight warmth emanating from his left side.

"I-I'm sorry Naruto, d-did I wake you?"

The boy's eyes shot wide open as he turned to face the quiet voice. There, serving as his 'soft surface' was Hinata. Naruto was about to ask where she came from when he remembered what had happened before.

"Sorry about that Hinata, I didn't mean to sleep on you," the blond sheepishly said.

Hinata blushingly smiled, "It's okay Naruto."

"Just make sure he didn't drool on you." Sakura said, walking towards the two teens.

Naruto quickly checked his mouth and sighed in relief when he found no drool. He was glad not to add something new for Sakura to poke fun of. Though it showed him their friendship was returning to normal, he didn't enjoy being made fun of, especially in front of Hinata. The reason why was unknown to him.

Hinata only blushed, seeing that Sakura had seen Naruto sleeping on her. The heiress had only snapped out of her thoughts when she felt something weight on her shoulders. It was a surprise to see her crush leaning on her as he slept. She blushed as she remembered how adorable he looked when he was sleeping. The heiress could only hope she hadn't made a silly face as she watched her crush sleep.

"Well you two? You going to join us or are you going to sit there snuggled up against each other?" Sakura teased, walking back to Inari and Miyuki.

Both teens ran towards their pink-haired companion, too embarrassed to say a word.

* * *

Three more days passed like a flash.

Inari was ecstatic to see Hinata and Naruto every day; it surprised her to see them keep their promise. By now, she knew they were kind people, but she had still assumed that they wouldn't be able to come **every** day. They were ninja; they had lives of their own. It wouldn't be surprising to hear they had plans the next day. Sakura, who came by again the other day, had told her about her busy schedule at the hospital. So why was it these two had nothing to occupy their time?

"Are you two bad ninja or something?"

"What?" the teen shot back surprised. To his side Hinata winced a bit, feeling she was a bad ninja.

"All you two do is hang out with me every day. Don't you have training or something to do?" she asked with pure bewilderment.

"Hey, we take time out of our lives to visit you and you accuse us of being no good!" Naruto yelled, anger rising from his stomach.

"Well if your lives are so busy then don't bother coming here anymore! I don't need you two with me to be happy!" Inari cried out.

"Fine then! If that's the way you want it we'll leave. Let's go Hinata." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her away from Inari. He was so mad that he didn't even hear Hinata interject.

Inari just stood there, at the door of the orphanage. It was mid-afternoon and everyone was getting ready for dinner. One of the caretakers called out to her but she just ignored her. Slowly and quietly, she made her way to her bed and cried. Miyuki jumped up the bed and laid next to her crying master.

"Miyuki, I blew it. Now I'll never see them again," she sobbed.

* * *

Naruto stormed all through the village, making his was home. The passers-by all moved away from him, fearing the monster inside of him might come out. _'I can't believe the twerp would say that. After all I did for her. She's so ungrateful. Well I'll show her! I'm not going to see her anymore! See if I care!' _the blond slowed his steps, _'But, I do care…' _sighing he continued his way home.

"Naruto," a voice called out from in front of him.

Looking up he saw the stern Neji, arms crossed and face in a frown.

"Hey Neji, what's wrong?"

"I should be asking you the same question," the Hyuuga said displeasingly. "I was on my way home when I see you walking with a scowl on your face."

"Yeah well I'm kind of upset right now." Naruto sighed; he didn't really want to talk about it with Neji.

"I gathered as much, which is why I am here."

"Look, no offense, but I really don't want to talk to you about it."

"I understand, and in normal circumstances I would not be so intrusive." Neji explained, "However, in this instance I have my reasons."

Naruto was becoming quite irritated at the dark-haired boy's presence. All he wanted to do was go home, why was he butting into his life all of a sudden? "So, what are your reasons?"

"She is my reason," the calmly spoke, pointing to the blue-haired Hyuuga behind the blond.

Naruto turned toward her, eyes widened. Where had she come from?

Hinata stood there, slightly winded, her face was slightly red.

"I have to ask Naruto," Neji's voice became serious and stern, "Is there a reason why, in the angered state you're in, you are dragging my cousin around town?" Neji reached out and grabbed the two teens' hands.

Naruto winced, and Hinata blushed. Quickly he released the heiress from his tight grip.

Once again, the blond had forgotten about his hold on the young heiress. After storming out the orphanage, he had nothing on his mind but the thought to rush home. Therefore, he didn't hear Hinata ask him to slow down or feel her hand tugging at his.

Naruto was beside himself, how was he going to explain this to the angry boy in front of him.

"Well Naruto?" Neji spoke in a harsh tone, "I want an explanation. Otherwise I will be forced to think you were pulling Hinata against her will." the boy's eyes narrowed.

"No it wasn't like that!" Naruto quickly explained, "You see, I kinda forgot Hinata was with me." he grinned nervously, "So I didn't know I was still pulling her along with me."

The shy heiress sighed, she knew she was very easy to overlook. Her quiet nature and shy behavior were to blame for that. It hurt a bit to be overlooked so easily, especially when it was by her crush. Looking up she saw Neji staring at her. With a nod, she confirmed the blond's reply.

"All right then," knowing his cousin was alright, Neji decided to leave the rest to Hinata. Whatever problem was going on, he could tell Hinata and Naruto needed to talk about it. "Hinata, make sure to come home before it gets late."

Hinata nodded her head and watched as her cousin made his way back to the Hyuuga compound. When he was finally out of sight, she turned to the blond boy.

"Sorry about dragging you around Hinata," Naruto said sadly, "I was so busy being angry that I didn't even think about what you wanted to do." The teen felt bad. He had dragged Hinata out of the orphanage without even knowing If she wanted to leave or not. Then he had pulled her around town without even knowing it, Naruto was glad that she hadn't gotten hurt while he was in such a foul state.

Naruto looked Hinata over to make sure she wasn't harmed. Hinata stood there quietly, her left hand holding her right hand. Worried Naruto grabbed Hinata's right hand and inspected it. Hinata could only blush and watch as he carefully checked her hand out.

The blond saw the heiress wince slightly as he applied some pressure to her hand. He spoke woefully, "I'm sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I-it's okay Naruto, y-you didn't do it on purpose." Hinata reassured him.

"Still…" the whiskered teen looked down miserably. His hand was still holding Hinata's hand.

Hesitantly, Hinata turned the hand Naruto was holding and gripped his hand. This surprised Naruto, as he looked up at her confused.

"I-it's my fault too Naruto. I-I should have gotten your attention or made a better effort to stop you." the Hyuuga teen shyly turned from his burning gaze. "E-everyone's a-always telling me to speak up b-but I'm still too s-shy to really get someone's attention. S-so don't blame yourself."

The blond was amazed at the Hyuuga heiress. It was just like Hinata to worry about others before herself.

Still, Naruto was not going to let his thoughtlessness go unpunished. "Alright Hinata, for the next three days I'm not going to eat any ramen. That'll teach me not to let my anger get the best of me."

"N-no Naruto, I-it's alright. Y-you don't need to go that far."

"But Hinata-"

"I-instead of doing that, w-why don't we go patch things up with Inari."

Naruto huffed; he had almost forgotten the brat's hurtful words, "Why should we, she's the one who doesn't want us around anymore!"

"But Naruto, she's only four, I'm sure she didn't mean it. B-besides," Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously, trying to find the best way to say it. "d-don't you think she'll be lonely if we don't go anymore? S-she's always so happy to see us."

Naruto couldn't disagree with the blue-haired heiress; she always seemed to make a good point.

"Um, I-I'll treat you to ramen I-if you come with me to the orphanage t-tomorrow." Hinata spoke in a quiet voice, glancing up hesitantly at the boy.

The blond boy would not have been able to hear it if it had not contained the words 'treat you' and 'ramen'. He chuckled slightly, "Alright Hinata I'll go. You don't have to buy me ramen, I'll go."

"O-okay," Hinata said a bit sadly. She would most likely have to go home now that there was nothing else to do.

"But, how bout we go eat some ramen anyway?" Naruto grinned, "I'm starving."

Hinata smiled, wondering just how her crush would have been able to keep from eating ramen for three whole days.

* * *

The day had ended and night had come. Everywhere you looked, the streets were empty of people. Only a stray person here or there.

Everyone was either already in bed or getting ready for bed. None more so than in the Hyuuga compound. The head of the family had a strict curfew for all Hyuugas, be they main or branch.

The halls of the Hyuuga compound were empty, with the exception of one young teen.

The young heiress had just said goodnight to her father and was heading to bed.

On her way to her room, Hinata passed her sister's room. As she passed by, she heard her sister's excited squeal. It had been faint, but it was there.

Quietly Hinata knocked on Hanabi's door, waiting for the reply that she could enter. Hinata never had that close a relationship with Hanabi, but she was making an effort to change that.

"So Hanabi, are you looking forward to tomorrow?"

"Of course, father has praised my skills and wishes to see how well I can do with a harder training regimen." Hanabi said in a calm demeanor, "I do not wish to disappoint him."

"I see," Hinata said, slightly hurt by her comment. Her father had always been disappointed in her.

The shy heiress turned to make her leave when she heard her sister speak.

"Yes?"

"Do you think," Hanabi paused, "Do you think I will be able to please father?"

Hinata stood there, unable to find a way to respond.

"I mean, this will be harder than anything I've done before. So I'm not sure I'm ready yet." Hanabi looked up at her sister, her eyes seeking some reassurance.

"Well, I think you are ready." Hinata said with a smile, "Otherwise I do not believe father would have decided to up your training."

The younger Hyuuga nodded her head, taking in the valid point her sister had made.

"So don't worry, I'm sure you will do well." Hinata said, truly believing her younger sister's ability.

"Of course, you are right. I have nothing to worry about." Hanabi presented her calm demeanor once more.

Hinata suppressed a giggle, even in private her sister wanted to be seen as being calm and collected. "Well, goodnight Hanabi. Good luck tomorrow." with a smile Hinata turned and made her way out of her sister's room.

"Thanks Hinata," Hanabi said, a rare smile on her face. She stood there, by her bedroom door, before closing it and turning in for the night.

Making her way to her room, Hinata felt overjoyed. _'I did it,' _the happy heiress thought to herself, _'By going over to talk to my sister I was able to help her out in a small way. It may have not been much but it's a start.' _Lying down on her bed she thought, _'I want Hanabi to know she'll always have me around if she needs someone to talk to. After all, that's what sisters are for.' _With the last of her energy drained, the blue-haired heiress drifted to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Hinata was up bright and early, walking around the Hyuuga compound, catching glances of her family training.

Today was the day her little sister Hanabi would be given a harder training regimen. Hinata remembered how enthusiastic her sister was the night before.

In front of everyone else Hanabi was well composed, just like their father had taught them. However, Hinata was able to catch her younger sister at times where she acted more her age.

Hanabi was, after all, five years younger than she was.

Hinata was happy to have been able to talk with her sister. She could only hope their bond would continue to grow.

The heiress made her way out of the compound after talking with her father.

Hiashi had always been disappointed in Hinata, but lately he was staring to change his mind about her. His daughter was starting to show sighs of improving. He was happy to see her becoming stronger and more confident. Though the Hyuuga head could only wonder with whom she always went out to visit.

It was not her team; usually Hinata would tell him if it were them.

The other day Hiashi had been tempted to ask Neji, but decided against it. Hinata was entitled to have friends, so long as they didn't hold her back in her training. Besides, Hiashi knew that if he were to simply ask his daughter, she would tell him. Hinata was not known to hide things from him. He had taught her to be honest, and that was one thing she had never disappointed him in.

* * *

The morning had already gone off to a bad start as the ever-hyper blond slurped his third cup of noodles. It had been six 'o' clock when he woke up, unable to go back to sleep. Getting up half-dazed, the boy decided to eat something.

As he placed the finished cup of ramen down, Naruto was overcome with yawns. Next thing he knew he was sound asleep, dreaming about more ramen.

It took a ray of sunshine from his window to shake him from his slumber. Slowly, the boy stood, looking around his apartment. Empty ramen cups where everywhere as well as a few pieces of trash and discarded clothes. Hard to believe he had made such a mess in just one day. After getting a trash bag from his kitchen, the blond groggily started cleaning up the living room.

Normally, if one should see the blond cleaning, one would think it was an imposter. But living with a little girl had changed him a bit.

That plus he didn't want Hinata to think he was a slob. Also add in the fact that Sakura had warned him about making Hinata do unnecessary things. Cleaning up his apartment was one of them. While the boy would never ask the heiress to clean for him, he knew that if she saw the mess, she'd be compelled to clean it. The girl was too kind for her own good. But, that was one of the things the blond really liked about her.

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of a door knocking.

"N-naruto?"

The blond's eyes shot wide. The heiress was here and his room was still a mess!

As quickly as he could, the boy sprinted around his house, picking up every scrap of trash in sight. With the last of his clothes put away, he dashed to the door. However, fate had different plans for him. He was in such a hurry to open the door that he didn't see the table next to him. With a loud crashing sound, the boy was face first on the floor.

"Ow, well that was fun," the teen sarcastically said, rubbing his aching head.

"A-are you okay?"

Standing next to him was the Hyuuga heiress, a look of concern in her eyes.

"Oh hey Hinata, sorry about not getting the door." the whiskered teen sheepishly replied.

"I-it's okay, I'm sorry for barging in unannounced. It's just that when I heard the crashing noise I was worried you were hurt so I…" the blue-haired girl nervously clutching the spare key in her hands.

"Huh, oh yeah the key I gave you."

"Mh," Hinata nodded, "H-here, I-I should probably return it to you since Inari's not here anymore."

"Nah, keep it Hinata." the teen replied.

"Oh but," she glanced nervously to the side. "I-I really shouldn't."

"Keep it. Besides," he chuckled, "how else can you come wake me up if I oversleep?"

"Um, o-okay." the heiress agreed shyly.

"Just let me finish getting ready and then we'll head off to see the brat."

Hinata nodded. Moments later, she had a smile plastered on her face; Naruto came in afterwards and asked her about it.

"What'cha so happy about Hinata?"

The girl blushed, "Oh um, w-well… I-I just happy t-that um…" she bit her lip hesitantly. "t-that we've hand the chance to get to know each other better."

"Huh, really?"

"Y-yes," Hinata looked down shyly, "I've r-really enjoyed these past few weeks. N-not counting all the trouble we've had o-of course."

Naruto was beside himself. Why would Hinata enjoy spending time with him? The boy grinned, _'I guess it's normal to want to hang out with your friends. And we're friends, right? So I guess she'd want to get to know me better.' _"Yeah, I've enjoyed this time too."

The heiress smiled happily.

"So then, if," he stumbled to find the right way to say it, "If Inari ever gets adopted, do you think we'd still be able to hang out like this?"

"I-I hope so, t-that is… if you want to." the girl blushed.

"Great." the teen smiled, happy to hear he would not be losing his friend anytime soon.

* * *

"Hay come play with us!" the five year old boy yelled from the bedroom door. "Hurry before you miss brickfast!"

"It's breakfast, and I don't want any." the tiny girl replied.

"Fine! Sorry I bodered you!" the boy exclaimed, closing the door behind him.

The small child was curled up in a ball atop her bed. Ever since the other night, she had not eaten a bite and had spent the whole time in her bed.

"Bad kids like me don't deserve to eat," she mumbled sadly. "But you can go eat Miyuki, you're a good puppy."

The black and white haired pup whined, placing one of her tiny paws on her master.

"It's okay, I'm not even hungry. Go eat, it'll make me happy."

Miyuki just whined louder, curling up beside the brown-haired child.

Inari let out a few tears, _'Miyuki, thank you'_ At times like this, she was glad to have her puppy. No matter what happened, Miyuki would always remain at her side. "You're the only one who hasn't left me." she spoke, more tears rushing down her cheeks as she recalled the death of her parents. "Mom…"

* * *

"_Come on sweetie, we must not disturb him while he's working."_

"_But I wanna play!"_

"_Well if you want to play then how about you play with me?"_

"_But mommy, daddy promised me!"_

"_Now Inari, one must not throw a fit when they don't get what they want." _

"_Hmph, daddy's a liar."_

"_Careful what you say, you could hurt your father's feelings."_

"_Yes, father might be so hurt by your words that he will not want o play with you all day."_

_The tiny child turned to see her father behind her._

"_Daddy!"_

"_I'll forgive you because you're young and my daughter," he said with a smile. "But remember, those who don't know you well enough might take what you say seriously. So always, watch what you say. Words have a way of making you lose those you care about."_

* * *

"I'm sorry dad, I failed you." Inari wept.

"I'm sorry but I don't think she want to see anybody right now."

"Like I care, HEY SHRIMP! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!"

The brown eyed child snapped from her thoughts and ran towards the door, Opening it quickly she rushed to the stairs and looked down to the people making the commotion. There on the first floor was the ever-loud blond and the quiet heiress.

"Wha?" Inari pondered.

Naruto's attention turned from the caretaker to the second floor where the child stood. "There you are!" he cried with a grin. "What's the matter, overslept?"

The four year old just stood there. Miyuki, who was by her side, gently nudged her forward.

Hinata and Naruto both looked up at her with smiles.

Despite the tears in her eyes, Inari ran down the stairs as fast as she could, coming to a halt right in front of them. Miyuki sat down right next to the small child, tail wagging happily.

"W-what are you guys doing here?" the brown-haired child sniffled, "Especially after I told you two not to come back."

"Heh, you can't tell Naruto Uzumaki what to do!" the blond exclaimed with a grin. "Besides, I promised I'd come visit every day, and I don't break my promises."

"But, you shouldn't come if it's just to keep a promise." Inari replied. No matter how much she was glad they had come, she didn't want them to waste their time on her.

"You brat, we're here cause we want to be. So just quit your whining and let's go have some fun."

"Don't you want us to be here Inari?" Hinata softly asked.

"I… yes but-"

"Well we want to be here too. We both care about you and don't want to keep from seeing you."

Inari's little eyes widened, tears flowing once more down her cheeks.

Hinata held her arms out and enveloped the crying child in her arms. Naruto looked down in happiness, he was glad Hinata had convinced him to come back. Even if the child's words bothered him, she was still alone in a strange place. No matter what, he was going to be at her side until she was given to a loving family. He wasn't about to let her feel the sadness he had grown up with.

After Inari's sobbing died down, the little girl went and ate some breakfast. The day then went by like it normally did.

With a huge smile on her face, Inari enjoyed the next four days with the two genin.

* * *

"Say what!"

"Like I just said, you have been assigned to a mission." the blonde Hokage simply put.

"Aw man and I was going to show the shrimp my cool summoning jutsu." the blond sighed.

"Hmph, good thing she's a girl or else you'd probably show her your stupid sexy jutsu." Tsunade huffed.

"Uh," the blond-haired teen stooped in though. Maybe he would have?

"Anyway brat, I also wanted to tell you that Hinata and her teammates are also being sent on a mission."

"What! But then who's going to go visit the kid?"

"Sorry brat, but there's no one else I can send right now. Everyone else is out on a mission. The squirt's just going to have to play with the other children."

Naruto grumbled but knew there was nothing he could do. So he went and got his things ready and then made his was to the orphanage.

Both Hinata and Naruto we sad that they had to leave the child alone, but assured the little girl they'd be back as soon as they could.

Inari cried, but tried to put up a brave front.

"That's it shrimp, you'll see, we'll be back before ya know it."

"You better! I'll be here waiting to see your jutsu."

After getting a hug from Hinata, Inari watched as the two teens made their way to meet up with the rest of their teammates.

* * *

Hinata was walking towards the Konoha gates when she heard a call from behind her.

"Hey Hinata!"

Turning, the heiress saw her favorite blond running towards her.

"N-naruto, you're back."

"Yeah, I see we both got back at the same time."

"Yes."

"You want to go see the kid?"

"Sure, it's midday so she must be out playing with the rest of the children."

"Alright, let's go."

The two teens excitedly made their way down the familiar road. When they got to the orphanage, they were met with unfortunate news.

"I'm sorry you two, but Inari's not here anymore."

"What are you talking about?" the blond asked in disbelief, "Where is she?"

"She's been taken away," the young caretaker said, "By two of her family members."

Hinata and Naruto turned to each other in shock. The child they had grown to care for, was gone.

* * *

Well, it was a peaceful moment till the part where Inari and Naruto fought. I hadn't meant to write that part but it came out as I typed. It sounded like an interesting turn of events so I thought I'd go with it and see where it lead. I gotta say I think it turned out well.

I've noticed that my chapters are getting bigger than before. I used to struggle to meet 3,000 words but now it's not so tough. Guess all those long scenes I'm coming up with are paying off.

Hmm, the scenes with Hiashi and Hanabi are tough. I know next to nothing of them so it's very hard to know how to portray them properly. I don't want to make Hiashi all evil though. Basically, I'm going to try to base his personality on episode 151 "Blaze Away Byakugan: This Is My Ninja Way"

At the end of that mission, Hinata tells her father that even though the mission was a failure she'll try harder so she won't fail next time.

It's then that Hiashi smiles at Hinata, somewhat proud of her. (at least that's how I saw it)

Anyway I that's how I'm going to portray Hiashi. Strict but deep down a kind man.

So, how'd you like the end? Surprised?

16 days passed by in this chapter. (I have every day counted for; almost two months have passed since Inari arrived)

Well, can anyone guess what's going to happen next?

LOL, I just noticed that the title only applies to like the first half of this chapter XD

Anyway, please comment 3


	16. The day we awaited

Disclaimer: Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

Note: First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Some was planned but lately a lot has been added and many changes have occurred. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as I get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one)

* * *

**Sorry, this thing's having problems posting right. **

I know it's been so long.

I'm so upset right now. You know how long it's been since I've been online?

Since I submitted chapter 15.

That's very long for me!

I was already peeved that the library didn't let me onto .

But then I didn't even get to go online!

Can't go to the library for like 2 or so months, and I haven't been able to use my friend's computer either.

(edit: I did get to go on May 1st )

I read everyone's comments for the new chapter and the one-shot I did.

I'm really glad to get some comments.

They made me extremely happy!

From now on I'm going to work harder to provide a story worth reading.

To everyone who comments and reads my fanfic. Thank you!

**Warning! This chapter will have constant jumps from one place to another. I hope you won't get too confused and will be able to understand who's talking and what's going on. ^^;**

**The parts in Italics are flashbacks.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_The day we awaited_

After being taken away from the village, I was in many things changed. I was finally given a chance to be in a family and live the life of a normal child. There is nothing more that I desire…

At least, that is how I had hoped it would be…

* * *

"_Where is she?"_

"_She's been taken away. By two of her family members."_

_Hinata and Naruto turned to each other in shock. The child they had grown to care for, was gone._

_

* * *

_

The long-haired hokage looked out the window of her office as she heard loud footsteps approaching.

"I see he's back." the blonde woman sighed as she turned towards the door.

The door forcefully swung open as an angry young teen ran inside the office. "Granny Tsunade, what's this I'm hearing about the shrimp being gone!"

Tsunade looked at the blond boy in front of her; his hands were fisted tightly at his side. Turning to the door, she saw the Hyuuga heiress approach the boy nervously.

"Look kid, it happened two days after you two left. Two people came here asking about her. Apparently they had been searching for the kid for some time now." she paused, signaling the two teens to have a seat.

"They said they were her aunt and uncle. When I brought Inari in she even seemed to recognize them. The uncle said he had heard what happened with Inari's father and mother and came home from their vacation as fast as they could. When they arrived and didn't see signs of Inari, they went searching for her." Tsunade brought her hands up and folded them in front of her face, "Apparently they are her only living relatives, and they have custody over her."

"What?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"It means they are now in charge of caring for her. They even had her parent's will, which stated that Inari would be handed over to her uncle and aunt when they died. There was nothing I could do. The two gathered her things and took her back to their home."

"But, this can't be." Naruto said, still in shock. Just when everything was going great, this had to happen.

"Naruto…" Hinata said sadly, she couldn't believe Inari was gone.

"I'm sorry you two, but at least now she can be given another chance at happiness. Now she has two people from her past to help her get through all she's been. I know it hurts now, but in time-"

"Yeah, I know." Naruto said despondently, heading out the door with Hinata following behind.

The two teens walked side by side, neither speaking a word.

The silence went on for a long time until, "Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"I… I don't like this." Hinata said hesitantly, "This doesn't feel right."

"I know, but what can we do. She belongs with her family."

Both stared at each other for a minute before Hinata began walking.

Naruto followed behind her until the heiress stopped a few yards ahead.

"Hinata?"

The heiress turned to the young boy and looked sadly at him, "Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"D-do you think she's happy?"

"Huh?"

A stray tear left her eye, "Inari. Do you think Inari is happy right now?"

Naruto looked down at the ground. "I hope so. After all that's happened to her…"

The two teens tried their best to cheer up. Inari was now with people who loved her and would take good care of her. It took an hour of talking, but eventually they were able to smile. Looking up at the sky, they wished the small child the best. She had a new life now, a new opportunity.

* * *

In the thick forest, there came a rustling noise. The sound of footsteps echoed all around them.

"What's that?" the boy asked nervously.

"I-I'm not sure." the girl responded.

After a few hours of walking, Hinata and Naruto had made their way outside the gate. It seemed that at the moment, the village had too many memories of Inari. But now, their attention was drawn elsewhere.

Naruto quickly stepped in front of Hinata, kunai in his hand.

Something in the bushes slowly drew closer to them.

Both genin stayed alert as it approached.

Out of the bushes stepped out an exhausted pup. With its remaining energy, the tiny critter whined before collapsing on the ground.

"Miyuki," Hinata cried, running to the black-haired pup. She picked her up gently and turned to Naruto before running back to their village.

Before anything else, they had to tend to the pup's wounds.

* * *

"How is she?"

"It looks like she'll be out for some time."

"Alright then, let's hurry."

* * *

The two teens made their way down the street when they came across one of Hinata's teammates.

"Hey Hinata, boy you sure seem to be hanging out a lot with this loser." Kiba grinned, glad to see the ticked off expression from the energetic blond.

"Um Kiba, do you think you could come with us for a minute?" Hinata softly asked.

"Sure why?"

"We need your help."

* * *

The young male made his way inside and stood in front of the room's patient.

"So, you found her outside the village?" he calmly asked.

"Yeah, it looked like she'd been running for a long time."

The boy bent over and sniffed around.

"I see," he turned to the two beside him, "From what I can tell, there seems to be small traces of gas on her."

"G-gas?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"Yeah, it's a typical gas that's used to knock someone unconscious. It's not that powerful and its effects don't last long. Although it is worse for small targets like children and animals. The pup managed to get away from it, but her coat caught some if It." the brown-haired teen looked over at the small puppy sleeping on the examination table.

"So do you think Inari was attacked?" asked Naruto.

"I can't say for sure, we'll have to wait till Miyuki wakes up. Then I can ask if she knows anything, right Akamaru?" Kiba turned to his white-haired puppy who barked happily.

* * *

Night came and went. The next day, early in the morning, the three teens went to see how Miyuki was doing.

Besides being completely exhausted, the pup had only suffered a few scrapes. Most likely caused by the rough terrain she had run through.

Kiba and the rest made their way to where Miyuki was, seeing that Akamaru was the first one to reach her. The two pups conversed with each other until Kiba walked up to them. "So what's up Akamaru? Did you find anything out?"

The white-haired pup barked a response. The brown-haired teen nodded his head then turned to the two people behind him.

"Well?"

"It's pretty bad, apparently two men posed as the kid's relatives and transformed back after they were far from the village. It was then that they gassed Inari and carried her away."

Both Naruto and Hinata stared at the Inuzuka boy with wide-eyes.

"Since they were only after the kid, Miyuki was able to run away without getting noticed."

"We have to tell grandma Tsunade about this!"

* * *

"I see," the blonde Hokage paused in thought. Trying to think of the best plan of action to take.

"So what are we going to do?" Naruto anxiously asked, tired of standing around and doing nothing.

"Well, it's obvious we're dealing with a dangerous group of people. Therefore, it's probably best we send out two teams; one for tracking and the other for backup.

With a nod from the teens, the hokage gathered up the members they needed.

The first team, which consisted of Shino, Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata, headed out with Miyuki leading the way.

The second team, which had Naruto, Lee and Shikamaru, trailed behind, careful not to be spotted. Their job would be to lurk in the shadows and follow the first team from a distance. With Shikamaru as the leader, Tsunade was confident the boy would be able to keep his team from being found out.

* * *

"Hey, how's about you carry the brat now, my arm's getting tired." the dark-haired man complained.

"How about you shut your trap before I shut it for you!" the large man shot back.

"What's that!"

The two muscled men glared angrily at each other, their hatred for one another obvious.

"Cool it you two, save the fighting for afterwards. Unless you want to make me angry?" the slender man pointed out.

With that, the two men straightened up and continued walking. As much as they wanted to tear each other up, neither was willing to do anything to upset their leader.

The dark haired man shifted the girl from one arm to the other, _'I wonder why we were sent to capture this kid anyway?'_ he thought to himself.

* * *

"_Alright you two, like we planned." the slender man said._

"_Yes!" the two men exclaimed, transforming themselves into a middle-aged couple._

"_Perfect, just like the two people we saw." the man smirked._

_After failing the first time, this time he would finally get the girl. They had followed the child's tracks for the most part but had lost her trail once or twice. _

'_This is the last village around, she's got to be here.' the man thought to himself. Signaling the two men to go ahead with the mission, he waited near the trees outside the gates. 'We were lucky those two had come back home when they did.' he thought again._

_

* * *

_

The heiress and her teammates rapidly made their way through the vast array of trees. Their only guide was a tiny pup who was trying desperately to keep up with their pace.

Miyuki's small legs were still tired from the previous day, but regardless of the pain, the pup continued.

Eventually they arrived at their destination.

"So this is where you last saw them?" the brown-haired boy asked.

Miyuki nodded while trying to retrace her steps. She stopped near a tree and started sniffing around. Akamaru followed suit.

"Okay guys, let's look around and see if we can find a trace of them." Kiba called out to his teammates.

With a nod, his two friends complied, using their abilities to search.

After searching for some time the three genin gathered.

They had found no people nearby, but there were small hints of a path someone might have recently taken.

After calling for Miyuki, the three teens began walking through to path. All the while, the two pups and Kiba sniffed around for any traces of human scent.

It seemed like a long time had gone by before Miyuki raised her head. Before anyone could open their mouths, the pup was gone.

"I think she found something." Kiba said with a faint smile.

The blue-haired Hyuuga clutched her hands to her chest and looked behind her before following her teammates. All hope was not yet lost.

* * *

"They found something."

"Let us hope we are not too late."

"Yeah."

* * *

"We there yet guys?" the muscled man whined.

It had been two hours since they had taken the girl and started making their way back to base.

"Almost," the leader of the group replied, "We should be there by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But that's not soon enough!" the dark haired man sighed.

"What are you complaining about, you're not the one carrying all our supplies." the well-built man huffed.

"Both of you shut up!" the skinny man in front of them yelled. "I'm starting to doubt having you two in my group." The man stopped in his tracks and turned to the two henchmen. His menacing expression was enough to silence the whole forest.

"W-wait a minute, d-don't be too hasty now?" the dark-haired man slowly stepped back.

"Y-yeah, we'll be quite now. W-we promise." the other man lifted his hands up nervously.

"Give me the girl, I shall take her now." the man calmly spoke.

Both of the muscled men looked at one another before the dark-haired one complied. Slowly, he handed the child to the slim man.

"Now," the two henchmen stiffened at the icy tone of their leader, "to get rid of the unwanted trash." With a flick of his wrist, two vials flew towards the two men. Crashing in front of them, the vials broke and the liquids inside them mixed together. A flash of light consumed the surrounding area as the slim man continued on. "What useless men, at least they managed to do one thing right." The man looked down to the child he was carrying and smirked. "It's time to take you to the boss."

* * *

Miyuki walked around the small area for the fifth time.

The pup had been losing the trail a lot, as they made their way deeper into the forest. But that was to be expected, after all, she had never been trained in tracking. Miyuki could only try to pick up on her owner's scent and follow it as best she could. Akamaru had been sniffing around as well, trying to lock on to the scent Miyuki was following.

The three teens had managed to find a few small clues that hinted which direction the people may have taken. That while combined to the pup's help, had allowed them to make excellent progress.

But the need for urgency left them anxious to continue on.

After a few minutes of searching, Hinata called out to them.

With her byakugan activated, she raised her hand and pointed out in front of her. "There's something over there but it's too far away to make out what it is."

"We should go check it out then."

The teens made their way to the area the heiress had pointed towards. But before they reached the place Kiba spoke, "It smells like a dead body, no wait, two dead bodies."

Puzzled, the three genin picked up their pace.

In little time, they came across the two corpses. Most of their flesh was gone, leaving only bones.

Miyuki sniffed one of the corpses and barked at the three teens.

"I think these were the men we were looking for." Kiba said in shock.

"At least two of them." Shino pointed out, "There must still be others. The ones who most likely did this."

Hinata nodded, "They must have taken Inari with them after betraying their teammates," the heiress activated her Byakugan, "There are no traces of a struggle and nothing indicates more than one group of travelers."

"Hmm," Kiba bent down and sniffed around. "They were careful not to leave too many tracks up to this point. But when they decided to eliminate these two, they didn't care anymore. There's shards of glass on the ground and some footprints leading that way." the teen pointed in front of them.

With the new lead the three genin made their way down the path that the footprints led to. The now exhausted Miyuki rested in the arms of the Hyuuga heir.

* * *

The skinny man ran past the trees, the small girl tucked under his right arm.

'_I'll set up camp and rest for a few hours. By tomorrow morning the boss will have the girl and I'll be promoted.' _the man thought with a smirk.

Placing the child on the ground, the man proceeded to setting up a small fire and preparing himself a small snack.

Thought the mission had started off rocky, it was finally coming to an end.

* * *

"_Blast, the child got away!" the slim man yelled out. "How could you idiots let her escape!" he turned to his henchmen with a growl._

"_It's not our fault, she just vanished." the dark-haired, muscled man explained._

"_Yeah, one second she was her and the next she's gone." the other well built man said. _

"_It doesn't make sense," the leader of the three frowned, "How could she have run off without us being able to catch up to her? There's just no way a small child could be so fast."_

_

* * *

_

"Heh," the man smirked, "After that I thought we'd never be able to find her. Luckily those two came when they did."

* * *

"_What happened here?" a tall man asked, a shocked expression plastered on his face._

"_The whole town seems to have been attacked." his female companion spoke, her whole body trembling._

_One look around and they could see that everyone had left. There were a few dead bodies here and there, but for the most part it seemed most of the people had escaped._

"_Let's go check my brother's home. We have to see if they made it out alright." the petite woman turned to her husband. With a nod, they both ran to the tall house above the hills._

_As they arrived at the home, they were met with shady looking people._

"_Well well, who do we have here?" the slim man asked._

"_Who are you? Were your three the one's who attacked the town?" the tall man asked, standing in front of his wife, acting as a shield._

"_We'll be the one's to ask the questions." the man spoke, waving at his two henchmen._

_The two muscled men grabbed the couple and searched their belongings._

_After finding some valuable information, the leader of the group gave the command. "Kill them."_

_

* * *

_

"It was pure luck that they were related to the kid." the man laughed, "With their faces and some legal documents that they had, getting our hands on the kid was easy."

* * *

"_Alright you two, this is the last place. Our last hope to find her." giving the signal to his men, the skinny man hid in the trees and waited for them to return._

_The two men took on the forms of the man and woman they had killed and made their way to the village's orphanage._

"_Hello, we've been searching many towns in hopes of finding our niece." the tall man spoke._

"_Yes, she's small, with brown hair and brown eyes." the short woman said._

"_Well we have a few girls who fit that description, please come this way." the young caretaker led the couple down the hall to where the children where eating lunch._

_It was then that a small girl turned their way, "Uncle…aunt." the child mumbled, believing to be seeing things._

_Afterwards the couple walked to the Hokage's office to explain the matter to her._

"_You see," the tall man spoke, "She is our niece. After we found her parent's dead, we started searching everywhere for her. We thought to look here when a merchant told us he had seen a small girl walking about a mile from here."_

_Tsunade reviewed the documents and then asked the little girl if it was all true._

"_Yes, this is my aunt and uncle." Inari confirmed._

_

* * *

_

"Damn kid was so easy to fool." the man chuckled.

* * *

_The three family members made their way towards the village gates._

"_So what are we going to go now?" Inari asked her aunt and uncle._

"_We're going to go to our new home," the woman replied, "where we can begin a new life."_

"_Oh," Inari looked back at Konoha and sighed, "Will we ever be able to come back here?"_

"_Probably not, why?" her uncle questioned._

"_Uh no reason." Inari remained silent after that. 'I wish I could have said goodbye to them.' a small tear rolled down her cheek._

_

* * *

_

"And then after we made sure no one would see us…"

* * *

"_Okay, this is where we stop." the tall man told Inari and the woman beside him._

"_Huh?" the small child looked around puzzled. Before she could react, a man rose from the bushes and threw a flask near her feet. The flask broke and released the gas that soon knocked the child out. With their task being the girl, the three men never noticed the pup that had been with her. Suffice to say, they never realized that Miyuki had fled._

_

* * *

_

The three teens ran as fast as they could. Night was approaching quickly; they only had a bit more light to guide them through the forest.

Hinata had her byakugan active when she caught something. "There's a fire up ahead, two people are there," she informed her teammates.

"It could be them, let's approach with caution. Shino, give the signal to Shikamaru." Kiba commanded; his teammates nodded in agreement.

The three genin drew near the campfire and gazed down at the man below them. He was sleeping soundly; next to him was the child they were looking for.

"Inari," Hinata whispered, it took all of her energy to keep from sweeping down and taking the small girl then and there. Especially with Miyuki squirming in her arms. But they would have to wait for Shikamaru and his team to arrive. There was no telling what traps the man could have set up. Though her byakugan couldn't detect anything, they couldn't take any chances.

Kiba gave them the signal to back away and wait for their backup.

A safe distance away from the man, the Inuzuka boy spoke, "Okay, so we found the kid and the man who took her. Now we have to get her away from him, any ideas?"

"I believe we were told that the recovery part of the mission was going to be done by Shikamaru's team. Our mission was to locate the child." Shino pointed out.

"I know that, but it won't hurt to try and come up with something."

With a nod, team 8 proceeded to brainstorm. Meanwhile, Miyuki's gazed stayed glued to the direction of her owner. Should the man rise and leave, the pup would be there to chase after him.

* * *

Darkness had come when the slim man woke up. After resting for a few hours, he was finally ready to continue. Within minutes, he gathered his things and went over to the sleeping child. However, before he could bend over and pick her up, a tiny dog ran from the bushes and bit down on his leg.

"What the-," the man said in alarm, shaking his leg in an attempt to get rid of the unwanted critter.

With a quick thrust, the slim man sent the pup flying towards a nearby tree.

Team 8 came running as soon as they saw the pup run away, but were unable to get there in time. They watched as Miyuki neared the giant oak tree and feared for the pup's life.

The slender man took notice of the unwanted visitors and made his way to the child so he could make his quick escape.

"Not so fast!" a figure in the shadows called out, a few feet from the scrawny man. With a grin, the figure made himself known, "Don't be so quick to leave, things are about to get interesting."

"What's that idiot doing?" Kiba asked in disbelief. "Wasn't he suppose to be our backup?"

The middle-aged man laughed at the teens, "My my, this is your backup?" With a grin, he turned to the blond-haired boy, "Don't tell me you're here to stop me?"

"I am, believe it."

* * *

After writing the first bit and then going into my usual funk of not writing for a week or more, I managed to get a few ideas of what to write next.

The jumping from person to person really helped. Especially since it left me with only having to write tiny parts for each group.

Writing longer passages just seemed impossible for me since I couldn't think of what to write.

I was surprised that a few people thought the last chapter was end of book on 1. Though it makes sense with how I wrote it. Back then, I just wanted people to wonder what would happen next. But after reading the comments, I felt like adding in the first two lines as a way to make it seem like it had been the end of book 1.

But alas, that was not the end of book 1. If it were I'd have no clue what to write next.

Hmm, this next part will really take some brainpower.

I'm kinda hoping I can end this without having to do a fight scene. Mostly cause I don't know how to write one. Would that bother you if in my whole NaruHina story there's not at least one fight scene? Or would you not care?

I'll have to see what I come up with in the future.

If you have any advice for writing good fight scenes I'd like to hear it.

Any comments will be much appreciated.

Even if I don't respond, I still read and get overjoyed when I receive them.


	17. Return what you've taken!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note:** First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Some was planned but lately a lot has been added and many changes have occurred. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as I get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one)

* * *

Small edit for the last chapter.

The three men were traveling for twelve, not two hours before the leader killed the two henchmen.

That's pretty much it, just thought I'd correct that here.

Okay, I've been wanting to do this for some time now so here goes!

Thanks to : NiebieskiLis, jadedsiren, Rose Tiger, vash3055, FALLING-ANGEL24, davethedark, Sora-chan, soundless steps, animeforever21, Batty, jitsuko1, Nebula1701, NaruHinaManiac, jasmine (13SoulEater13), 50rpl, aiko-akina, mykeyo10, silversky-47, Z LOT847, afallenheart, Averiella, A fan!, dracco122, Ads96, Hina the half heart, Shadow of the Forgotten Ones, Trickster411, Ave., T., adngo714, Uzumaki-Ricky, lilly and Quiet Smile96 for commenting on my story!

Every time I feel down I remember everyone who's enjoying my fic.

It's thanks to yall that I have this determination to keep writing.

Also thanks to those who commented on my sequel to my first one-shot.

Writing 'A Shy Date' was a nice break from writing this story.

Sorry for making everyone wait. Thanks for being to patient.

I hope I haven't lost any readers with all these long periods of not updating.

Okay, enough rambling, yall came to read the next chapter not this.

So enjoy~

**Chapter 17**

_Return what you've taken!_

A grin escaped the man's lips, the boy before him sure was confident. It had been some time since he'd come face to face with a person who wasn't completely afraid of him. He had to savor the moment.

"Well, since this fight will be over quickly, I'd like to know one thing." the man spoke.

"What?" Naruto said warily.

"How did you manage to track us down and catch up with us so fast?" the man said with a frown, "Did those idiot henchmen of mine leave a trail?"

"My friends are skilled trackers, plus they had some help from a little friend. Add to that with the fact you guys made one mistake."

The slim man kept a sharp ear, waiting to hear what the blond would say.

"Let me ask you something," the blond smirked, "You guys have never been around this area have you?"

"No, why?" the man sneered.

"Well, when my friends were searching around the forest they noticed that you guys happened to walk around the same area a few times." Naruto stifled a chuckle, "That really helped us catch up."

The older man seethed in anger, '_I can't believe I was walking around in circles.' _he thought to himself, _'No matter what I can't let the boss know of my mistake. Especially since he's kept me at his side because of my intellect.'_

"Which is too bad, I had hoped you'd be a challenge. But it's obvious now that you're no match for me." Naruto said with a grin.

"Don't get cocky little boy, you have yet to see what I'm made of." the man said with a frown.

Both stood a good distance from each other. The man's question was answered; it was time to fight.

The young blond teen stood before the slim man, his expression daring the man to make a move. With a quick look to his back, he saw the small child asleep on the ground. Her breathing seemed a bit off, how she managed to stay asleep with all the racket they made seemed unusual. It was almost as if-

Naruto angrily looked from where Inari lay to the man in front of him. With clenched fists he called out to the man, "What have you done with her?"

"Oh don't worry about her; she'll just be out for some time. Couldn't risk having her disappear like last time." the slim man grinned. He was confident that he could take out four measly teens. But first, he would get rid of the boy.

"Why you!" the blond yelled angrily, charging right towards the tall man.

Naruto threw a series of punches and kicks but none landed a blow.

"Surely this is not all I'm up against," the man scoffed, "Don't tell me a boy like you can't handle a weak man like me?"

The man egged the blond on, earning the response he wanted.

Fully enraged, Naruto lunged once more at the man. This time his punches were more off, leaving himself wide open to an attack,

The slim man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a needle filled with liquid. With a trust of his hand, he aimed for the blonds' neck.

A green blur passed right by, striking the man's arm, causing the needle to fall to the ground.

"Naruto my friend, you cannot let this man's words affect you. Your youthful spirit is more than capable of taking him down."

"You're right bushy brows," Naruto replied, "Let's do this."

With a nod, the two teens charged the slim man. Working together, the two managed to land a few blows.

'_Not good'_ the man thought to himself, _'I've got to take them down somehow.'_

The man jumped atop a tree, bringing two flasks out from his pockets. With a thrust, he sent them flying towards the two genin.

Naruto and Lee managed to evade the attack as the flasks burst, melting the ground under them.

However, they were so busy watching out for the flask that they did not see the man come behind them.

The slim man had only used the flask as a distraction, jumping off the tree to fetch his discarded needle. Holding it in his right hand, the man thrust it into the dark haired boy.

"What the-! Bushy brows!" Naruto yelled, catching the short-hared boy as he fell to the ground.

"That is my powerful knock-out drug." the slim man chuckled, "He won't be waking up for hours."

"Damn you," the blond hissed, laying his friend by a nearby tree.

The fight between the teen and the older man began again. This time the man fought as well, sending a few kicks to the boy's side. Naruto tried to find an opening, all the while being careful not to be hit by any of the man's mysterious vials.

* * *

"How much longer Kiba?" the blue-haired teen asked, the sleeping pup stirring in her arms.

"At this pace we should be there in an hour or two." the boy replied, turning to his right, "How are you doing Shino?"

"I'm fine," the boy in shades replied, holding the small girl in his arms.

Hinata looked at Inari and then at the direction they had just left. Her face clearly showed she was not only worried about the child. _'Naruto'_

* * *

"_Let's lend that idiot a hand guys." Kiba said to his teammate, advancing a step ahead._

"_No Kiba, you guys need to leave."_

_Team 8 turned to the voice, surprised to find it was Naruto who had spoken._

"_A-are you a clone?" Hinata asked._

"_Yeah," he said, walking to the Hyuuga heiress, "Here," The Naruto clone gently handed over the tiny puppy in his hands. "I managed to catch her before she hit the tree. You've got to take her and Inari back to Konoha. We can handle this."_

"_But," Kiba interjected, "We can't just leave you guys."_

"_You can and you will," the Naruto clone said sternly, "Your team's mission was to retrieve the girl. Now you have to take her back home and have her checked out by granny Tsunade. We don't know how harmful that gas she inhaled could be."_

"_Naruto's right," Hinata spoke, "We have to get Inari back home."_

_The Naruto clone smiled; glad he didn't have to argue with them. If they squabbled for too long the enemy might notice them and that wouldn't be good._

"_I'll go get the girl," Shino told his teammates, carefully going to the spot she laid without getting noticed by the ones fighting._

* * *

"Heh, guess that idiot makes sense sometimes." Kiba smirked. "Now let's pick up the pace, the kid's got to be checked out soon."

His teammates nodded, raising their speed.

* * *

"Just give up kid," the slim man spoke, sending the blond boy to the ground with a strong punch to the face.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you," Naruto responded, standing up and wiping the blood from his lower lip.

Naruto ran towards the tall man, sending a barrage of attacks, managing to land a few hits.

Just as the blond moved in to finish the job, the slim man activated his trap.

"Fool," the man spoke, "You think I'd let you defeat me so easily. While you were busy pummeling me, I was formulating a plan."

"What plan?"

The slim man chuckled, "See for yourself." With a vial in his hand, the man threw it to the ground, encompassing the area around them in a bright light.

The light lasted only a few seconds, but it gave the man the opportunity to escape.

"Damn it." Naruto's fists tightened in anger.

The young boy moved to chase after the man.

"DON"T MOVE NARUTO!"

The warning came too late however, as the ground below the blond flashed brightly.

"What the-"

The bright lights faded, showing a young teen unconscious on the ground.

"Naruto!"

A dark-haired boy came down from the trees and rushed over to his comrade,

"Fool."

Shikamaru turned to his side, surprised to see the slim man before him.

"You-"

"Did you really think I didn't notice you hiding in the trees, waiting for the chance to strike." the slim man smugly spoke, "Nothing get's past me."

"That's what you think."

Both males turned to see the energetic blond standing atop a tree, a grin plastered on his face.

"There's no way," the man said, "You were caught in my trap, you should be fast asleep."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Naruto jumped to the ground, "But all you caught was a clone."

Shikamaru chuckled softly, "Man, this was such a drag, having to put on this whole act."

"Act?" the tall man questioned.

"You see," Naruto began, "All this fighting, it was all to distract you from our main objective; getting the little girl to safety."

The tall man looked around, seeing no sign of the child or the teens that were once there. _'When did they escape? And how come I didn't notice'_

"You didn't notice them," Shikamaru explained, guessing the man's thoughts, "because Naruto made **sure** you didn't. While he fought you, he made sure your back was always turned towards the area our friends were. With your mind on the battle and your body turned, the chances of you noticing were slim,"

"And even if you did notice, Shikamaru had you in his line of vision, one move towards our friends and he would capture you in his shadow possession jutsu." the blond said with a smile, "Since the moment our battle began, we had everything on our control."

"Aside from your vials, your only other mode of fighting was taijutsu. With your abilities you were only able to take one of us down."

"I could probably have been able to take you down in a flash though," Naruto said with a small pout, "but Shikamaru didn't want me to."

"It was too much of a risk Naruto; you could have met the same fate as Lee."

"Heh, doubt it, I'm not that easy to defeat."

"Enough Naruto, let's focus on our mission!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Naruto turned to the man in front of them.

He seemed to be laughing madly, a large vial clasped between both of his hands.

"Fools, even though I can't escape, that doesn't mean you've won." he grimly looked to the ground, his decision was made. _'I'm not about to go back to the boss empty handed. Either way I'd be doomed, so I'd rather die at my own hands.' _

With a thrust to the ground, the vial shattered, releasing a toxic liquid. The liquid's deadly odor soon made its way to the man's lungs. Within minutes, the liquid had begun to eat away at the man's flesh, while the odor had made its way to the man's lungs.

"No," Shikamaru spoke, "He'd rather get eaten from the inside and outside before letting us capture him. Now we won't know who he was working for."

"Damn it," Naruto angrily looked to the spot where the older man's remaining flesh and bones lay. _'How are we supposed to protect Inari from an unknown enemy? This really sucks.'_

Shikamaru walked over to where Lee lay, crouched down, and put his teammate's arm over his shoulder. He paused and turned to the blond, "Hey, come on Naruto, we've got to get Lee checked out."

The blonds' frustration quelled momentarily as he made his way to help the black-haired teen.

Naruto took the left side of Lee and slowly, lifted the teen up on his back.

Shikamaru trailed behind as Naruto ran ahead of him. Their pace was somewhat fast, for they didn't know what danger's their friend might be facing.

* * *

A small breeze trailed by, providing the nearby villagers with a comforting moment. Children passed by joyfully through the busy streets, as merchants tempted passersby with their delicious goods.

Among those villagers, walked a young disgruntled kunoichi.

Her short hair swayed in the wind as she walked through the street, each step increasing the distance from the hospital. In her mind, the more steps she took the better. To say she was upset would be a huge understatement. Her fist were clenched tightly, her face set in scowl. Some could have sworn they'd seen hot air escaping from her ears.

"Oh that Ino," Sakura grumbled to herself, "Who does she think she is, trying to teach **me**? As if she knows how to do something better than I do!"

Thoughts of her blonde friend looming in her head. _'Here Sakura, let me show you how it's done.' _

The pink-haired girl stomped angrily through the streets, venting her frustration. "I'm supposed to help **her** not the other way around!"

'_No, that's not right; I told you to that I'd show you the right way to do it!'_

Sakura, so consumed in her thoughts, did not hear someone calling out to her. That is, until the voice rose in volume.

"**SAKURA!"**

"Huh?" the girl broke away from her thoughts and looked at where she was. In her angry stomp through the village, she had failed to notice where she was going. Now, standing in front of her, were the gates of Konoha.

And running towards her, were some familiar faces.

"Sakura we need your help." said the brown-haired boy. He had called out to the girl as soon as he caught sight of her near the village gates.

Hearing those words, the kunoichi rushed to their side. "What's wrong Kiba?"

"It's the girl, she's been out for a long time now, we're worried about her." distress was evident in Kiba's voice.

Sakura did a quick examination of the child in Shino's arms. Her breathing was irregular, her face was flushed and her pulse was weak. "This doesn't look good," the teen spoke, "We have to take her to Lady Tsunade!"

* * *

The young blonde teen stood in deep concentration. Droplets of sweat slowly ran down her face, a look of determination in her eyes_. 'I can do this, I can do this.'_

The young kunoichi had been having a few problems lately. Lucky for her, she had a new motivation.

'_That Sakura,' _she huffed in mid thought, _'I wish she'd let me help her out. Is it __**so**__ hard to believe that I can learn something better than she can? Seriously, what is with her! Well I'll show her that I'm just as good as she is.'_

The blonde teen's concentration slowly started to waver. The older woman next to her took notice and decided to end it there. "Very good Ino, I think that's enough for today."

Ino dropped her hands to her side, letting out a sigh of relief. "Yes Lady Tsunade."

The blonde girl proceeded to clean up, nearly finishing when a faint noise began to grow louder and louder as it neared the hallway.

"Lady Tsunade! Team 8 has returned with the child." Shizune called out, running towards the blonde Hokage.

'_Team 8 is here already? But What about Naruto and the others?' _her thoughts were cut short as they placed the small girl in front of her.

Tsunade got right to business, looking the child over.

Hinata walked up the Hokage and spoke, "Will see be asleep much longer?"

"It's hard to tell, I'll have to see what kind of gas was used on her. I also have to check and see if I can clean her system of the gas." Tsunade looked up at the young heiress, "I'll do everything I can to help her, so don't worry."

The blond woman carried the child away and motioned for Shizune, Sakura and Ino to follow.

"It's going to be alright Hinata," Kiba reassured the heiress, "For now let's go see if Naruto and the others have made it back yet."

"I agree, if they take too long to get back then I think we have to go look for them."

Hinata nodded, following her teammates back to the village gates. 'We did our part, now it's up to them.'

* * *

I decided to cut it there since I was having problems writing it all.

The times seemed wrong and I was racking my brain trying to make sense of it all. So I thought I'd be best to post it now.

That way I could relax a bit and have time to think the next part thoroughly.

Ugh, I wish I didn't have to write any fight scenes. I'm just no good at them. Though this didn't really have much fighting. It was mostly a quick summary of some punches.

Towards the end, I was finally able to figure out how to end it.

*phew* Glad that's over.

If I ever write another fight scene, I'll be sure to get some help on how to write it.

Poor Inari, she's like a doll right now. By next chapter, she should wake up though. So hang tight Inari, you'll have your time to appear soon.

Hope you're enjoying this! Please tell your friends about it.

That's all for now.

Bring a smile to the writer; leave a comment if you can.


	18. It's only begun

_**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me._

_**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Some was planned but lately a lot has been added and many changes have occurred. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina, but there will be small fluff here and there. It'll get better as I get to book two and three. (FYI this is book one) Hope you guys are patient since this will take a long time to finish writing._

* * *

_* **I AM SO VERY VERY SORRY!**_

_I use to depend on my public library but it's still closed. So then I relied on my friend's internet. But I haven't been able to go there for a while. So who knows now when I'll be able to post new chapters. *_

_****This chapter was finished on July 16th**_

_Thank you very much for your understanding and for waiting patiently for this next chapter._

_If I can't update then I'll work hard to have many chapters ready and available when I finally have some internet._

_New goal that by this year I'll have book 1 either done or almost done. (even if I can't submit any of it) _

_It's like my mid-year resolution to myself. *wrote this in July*_

_We'll see how it goes. (Especially since I have no clue how to end book one. I've got to start putting my thinking cap on)_

_Thanks again for the reviews! _

_Eighteen chapters down, and who knows how more to go!_

**Chapter 18**

_It's only begun _

* * *

It was early afternoon when the blond reached the village.

"Man, I thought we'd never get here." he huffed.

"Considering how fast we ran, I'd say we arrived in record time." Shikamaru paused to catch his breath. "Now, you take Lee to the hospital and I'll go report to the Hokage."

"Right."

Shikamaru ran ahead, crossing the gate before Naruto.

The blond shifted his sleeping friend to a better position as he continued on to the hospital. His pace slowed down as he met with familiar faces.

"Hey Naruto, you guys back already?" Kiba said, approaching the blond teen. To pass the time the three teammates had decided to grab a bite to eat before heading to the gates. "Man, I didn't think he'd be that weak."

"Well, he was no match for a future Hokage, that's for sure!" Naruto grinned.

"Yeah right, look at Lee; he was so bored he fell asleep." Kiba chuckled.

Naruto turned to his dark-haired friend, "Actually Kiba, Lee was taken out by the enemy."

"What?" Kiba asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, that guy hit him with this needle and knocked Lee out. I have to get him to the hospital fast. Who knows what effect the needle might have caused."

Team 8 looked at their sleeping friend in worry, with a nod they stepped aside and let Naruto through, following behind him as he ran to the hospital.

* * *

Cobwebs covered the whole entrance, poking out of the many pieces of bones laid around the rocky ground. There was little light entering from the makeshift whole of the man-made cave. Three medium-built figures cautiously entered the cold cave. Death could be smelled from the inside. Whether it came from the many oozing and recently deceased flunkies or the man awaiting them past the hallway, no one knew for certain.

The door eerily creaked opened, as the man's cold eyes immediately pierced the three's whole beings. His gaze was menacing and powerful. With a flick of the wrist he beckoned them forward.

Before any of the three men had a chance to speak, the man's voice was heard echoing through the cavern walls.

"**You three better have brought me some good news." **His voice rang loud and strong, a hint of evil malice was spewed with each word spoken.

The man was big and well muscled, clearly a strong person. His face was one that struck fear to those he encountered. A scraggly beard adorned his chin while short brown hair lay atop his head. His face was always set with a frown, but of all his features, his eyes were the most noticeable. They were dark brown, and capable of subduing the lowest of lowlifes with their gaze. Eyes that carried hate and clearly showed the man's cruel nature. It was said that, when corned, the man's eyes would show that there was not a single speck of hope for mercy. No man who crossed him ever lived to speak of the power that he possessed. The only ones who knew what the man was capable of were the henchmen he gathered to do his bidding. Those men where ruled by fear and nothing else.

Carefully, the man in the middle stepped forward, "I'm sorry Boss, but we could not find them anywhere."

"W-we looked for them at the rendezvous point and every p-place surrounding it but found n-nothing." the man to the right spoke, quivering.

"My guess is they have failed you sir," the last man spoke, "They were given a deadline and have failed. Please give us a chance Boss; we will not fail you like they have."

"I suppose you are right," the intimidating man spoke, "I will send you three to find what I seek. Go now and make it quick. My patience is growing thin."

The three men nodded and quickly left.

The big man stood and exited the cave, with his prize far away he would soon have to leave soon and look elsewhere. He was growing tired of moving from place to place, not to mention his men where depleting rapidly. "I must find it before they do." he said with a growl.

* * *

The teens arrive in a flash to the hospital.

Almost immediately they are found by Shizune who checks Lee out. Signaling to a few nurses they take the boy away, leaving Naruto and the others to wait.

To pass time Kiba and Naruto discuss the battle with the tall man as Naruto explains how they were able to take him down.

"Except for those annoying vials the man was no problem for me." the blond said proudly.

"A-are you sure he didn't hit you with anything Naruto?" Hinata asked with worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I feel great," he said with a grin.

"Still, any scratch he might have inflicted should be looked at." Sakura spoke from across the hallway.

Hinata quickly stood up and approached the pink-haired kunoichi. "Sakura, how is Inari?"

"She's resting for now, we managed to get most of the gas out of her system, but we still have to get all of it out. For now, we will be keeping be her at the hospital to monitor her vitals until she's fully awake and at 100%"

Feeling reassured, Hinata let out a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"Yeah, when can we see her?" Naruto questioned.

"Not until she wakes up, which might be until late tomorrow." Sakura answered, "But for now, I think you need to be checked out Naruto. That man could have injected you with something too."

"No way, he didn't even scratch me. See?"

Hinata turned bright red and nearly passed out. Feeling weak-kneed, she turned away from her crush and took deep breaths.

"See Sakura, I don't have any scratch on me." the blond turned, showing his teammate his backside after she had inspected his front.

"Fine, I don't see any injuries. So I guess you must be alright." Sakura announced, "Just make sure to tell me if you start feeling sick."

With a smile and a nod, Naruto picked up his discarded shirt and vest. He was about to put his clothes back on when he noticed Hinata's shaking form.

'_I-I need to calm down,' _the heiress thought to herself, _'J-just have to try not to t-think about it.' _With a few breaths the shy teen managed to calm herself down. Turning slowly, the heiress thought she was fully prepared until….

"Hinata, are you okay?"

There, before her stood the boy of her dreams. His blond spiky hair adorning his sun-kissed face that held the most wonderful shade of blue eyes. All it took was his gaze to send her stomach into knots, but this time, it nearly sent her heart bursting from her chest.

'_His face is so close to mine, and he… he's still not wearing a shirt.' _with red colored cheeks her gaze tried not to wander, but all it took was a moment of curiosity. In the beat of a second her eyes moved from his face to his tanned and slightly toned stomach. Her cheeks burned brightly as her gaze lingered on the blonds' exposed body.

Though the moment was brief, it caught the attention of said blond.

"Huh, what's wrong? Do you see something on my stomach Hinata?"

The teen's words snapped the blushing heiress back to reality, as did her teammates 'helpful words'.

"I think it's more like what she doesn't see!" the brown-haired boy chuckled.

The heiress blushed intensely, she had been so focused on her crush that she had forgotten all about the people around her.

The blond tilted his head, in wonderment. "What do you mean Kiba?"

Sakura stepped in, much to Hinata's relief, "Just put your clothes back on you idiot."

No further words were spoken and no time was given to process the current situation as the tired, blonde Hokage came to their view. Shizune trailed behind her.

"Hey, granny Tsunade, how's bushy brows doing?" asked the blond, zipping up his last article of clothing.

"There's no need to worry. He was merely injected with a mild sedative, commonly used to knock someone out for a few hours. He should wake up soon, albeit with a mild headache."

The blond and his friends let out a sigh of relief.

"So now that you know he is fine, I suggest you all head home and rest for the day. You've just come back from a mission after all," commanded the blonde Hokage.

Each teen exchanged a glance at one another before nodding their heads.

"By the way you guys," Sakura spoke, looking around the room with curiosity, "Wasn't Shikamaru in the mission with you guys too?"

Tsunade looked around as well, wondering the same fact, "Did he get hurt as well? Or did he go home?"

Team 8 turned to Naruto, the one who had last been with the black-haired boy. Sakura and Tsunade looked to him for a response.

"Uh…" Naruto began, everyone's attention squarely on him, "We separated when we got to the gate. He's um…" the blond scratched the back of his head nervously, "uh, I don't remember."

Kiba, Sakura and Tsunade let out an exasperated sigh. _'Figures' _the three thought in unison.

* * *

A distance away, at the doors of the Hokage's office, stood a tired boy.

With a sigh he turned and left the building, _'After running back home for hours, I walk all the way over here to give my mission report to the Hokage. Only to hear she is at the hospital, where I would have been if I hadn't decided to head here first. How much more troublesome is this day going to get?' _Turning his head upwards he sighed once more, _'Not a single cloud in the sky, what a troublesome day indeed.'_

* * *

"Okay, everyone come see me tomorrow morning to report. Be sure to tell Shikamaru about it." Tsunade said, walking off with Shizune in toe.

"I'm going to check on Lee before I head home, see you guys later," the pink-haired teen said with a wave.

Naruto and Hinata fought the urge to follow behind her and convince her to let them see Inari. However, they knew the small child had been through a lot, and that for now it was best to let her rest. They shared a similar look of sadness.

"So Hinata, are you coming?" Kiba said, turning to his female teammate.

"Wait, where are you guys going." Naruto questioned.

"To my house," Kiba answered, "While Inari is in the hospital I'll be taking care of Miyuki. My sister is tending to her injuries right now. You wanted to go see Miyuki didn't you Hinata?"

"Yes," the heiress said softly, walking towards Kiba. "S-see you tomorrow Naruto."

"Yeah, see you later Naruto." the Inuzuka said with a grin, "Make sure you tell Shikamaru about tomorrow." with that, he placed his right hand gently on the Hyuuga heiress' back, leading her out of the hospital.

Naruto growled, _'Damn Kiba, making me have to go looking for Shikamaru.' _While the blond was upset about having to go searching for his dark-haired friend, it wasn't the real reason for his frustration. For even he didn't know, the true cause which lay deep within him.

He left the hospital with a sense of loneliness. This feeling, which had been nearly forgotten since the arrival of Inari. However, this lonely feeling didn't remain for long.

"Hey Naruto," cried a familiar voice.

Naruto turned to find his black-haired friend behind him. "Hey Shikamaru, where were you?"

The Nara teen sighed, "I went to report to the Hokage, remember?"

"Oh yeah," the blond said, finally remembering, "Well granny Tsunade said we have to go report to her tomorrow morning."

"Ugh, that's so troublesome," the teen groaned. With a tired look, he said his goodbye to Naruto and went home.

The young blond, seeing the sun still out, decided to grab a bite to eat at his favorite place.

On his way there, the blond almost collided with a small tike.

"Sowwy mistur," the boy said with a frown, scratching his scraggly hair nervously.

"It's okay, I wasn't watching where I was going," with a grin he assured the child everything was okay.

"Daniel! Did you find the place?" cried a voice from behind. Walking towards them was a young girl with long blonde hair tied up into two braids. Her companion was a shorthaired skinny boy of a similar stature.

"No, hey mistur," the little boy turned to Naruto, "Do you know of a pwace that sells the best wamen?"

"He means ramen." the skinny boy corrected.

The blond blinked in thought, "Well there's Ichiraku's, they have the most delicious ramen ever!" his face held a bright smile.

"That must be the place Inari talked about," the young girl happily announced.

This caught the blonds' attention even more, "Wait, Inari? Small, brown-haired little girl Inari?"

"Yes, she once told us of some delicious ramen she had with friends. Therefore, we all decided to get some for dinner today. Why? Do you know her?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, I visit her all the time at the orphanage." Naruto said with a grin.

"Oh yeah, I think I remember seeing him a few times at the orphanage," the shorthaired boy commented to the girl beside him. "Remember Ally? He was with that really pretty blue-haired girl."

Ally, filled with a hint of jealousy, sent a nasty glare at her friend. "I'll be pretty when I grow up too," she mumbled to herself.

The boy's comment made Naruto think, "Well, I think she's more cute than pretty." Hearing a faint giggle, he looked up at Ally. "What?"

"Nothing," she muffled another giggle, "Right Kent?" The boy beside her merely rolled his eyes.

The blond teen looked at her with a questioning face.

"Mistur, what's the diffuwence butween pweety and kute." Daniel asked innocently. Ally's snickering turned to laughter upon seeing the teen's response.

Naruto eyes went wide, his cheeks held a hint of pink. _'Oh man, did I say that out loud?' _He tried to stammer a response, "I… you see, what I meant was…" he chuckled nervously, _'I wonder why I even thought that.'_

The blond was saved from an explanation and from his own thoughts by a woman's voice.

"Children there you are," walking towards them was a twenty-nine year old woman with long black hair. "Please do not walk so far ahead of me." she scolded, "What would I do if I lost any one of you?" The woman's voice was stern, yet it held a sweet tone. Her expression clearly showed her concern for them.

"We're sorry Miss Bell," the two nine year olds said in unison. The small five year old merely nodded.

"I'm sorry did they cause you any trouble?" she asked politely.

"Nah, they just asked me where Ichiraku's place was. I'm going there right now to grab a bite to eat; I can show you where it is if you want."

"Yay, wet's go! I wanna eat the wamen!" Daniel's face held a big smile.

The three kids followed behind the blond teen after getting the ok from their caretaker.

Naruto ordered his usual number of ramen bowls, taking a seat on one of the stools when his first bowl arrived.

While Ms. Bell gave her long order to Teuchi, the kids talked to the blond ninja.

The small child with the light-brown hair was the first to speak.

"Are you sad dat Inawi is not heur anymo?" his sad eyes looked up at the blond.

"Aww Daniel, are you still upset that she's gone?" Ally's voice was a mixture of teasing and sympathy.

Daniel just pouted; he'd been dealing with everyone's constant teasing since Inari had left.

"Hey, we all kinda miss her. Don't we Ally?" Kent's expression was one Ally knew all to well. It clearly told her to 'cut it out'.

Naruto smiled, happy to hear that Inari had friends at the orphanage. After finished his second bowl of ramen he answered, "Well actually guys, Inari came back to Konoha today."

The three youngsters listened intently as the blond told them a bit of what had happened. He was unsure of what information he could say so he kept the explanation short.

"Oh poor Inari," Ally gasped, "Getting taken away by people who weren't actually her relatives. I'm so glad you guys were able to bring her back."

"Yeah, she's in the hospital right now, I'll probably go see her late tomorrow." the blond explained, "That's around the time Sakura said she would wake up."

"Ms. Bell," Daniel said excitedly, "Can we go see Inawi tomowo at the hopitol?"

The black-haired woman smiled, handing each child some of the ramen she had ordered, "I'll ask the headmaster of the orphanage for permission. Now let's get going, we have many mouths to feed. And you know that hungry children are not very patient."

Ally and Kent helped with the majority of the food, while Daniel tried to carry as much as his little hands could hold. Ms. Bell carried the rest, bowing goodbye to the blond as he finished his third bowl of ramen.

Naruto stayed there half an hour more, talking with Teuchi and Ayame about various topics.

Afterwards he headed home chuckling, _'Those kids sure were cute.'_

The blond stopped, his cheeks warming slightly, _'Cute…' _His mind wandered back to the phrase he had spoken aloud. _'I wonder if it's okay that I think she's cute._' Naruto shook his head, deciding he was too tired to think about the topic anymore.

With a yawn, he made his way home, yet again casting aside a newly formed feeling.

Maybe tomorrow… it would have another chance to bloom.

* * *

_Ok, new bad guy revealed, never thought I'd ever actually introduce him. Thought him up as I typed up his scene._

_Dunno if I should have written him to sound so scary and powerful._

_Boy, I sure know how to drive myself into a corner. Well he'll probably only show up a few times so I guess I'll have time to figure it all out._

_The scene with the kids from the orphanage was just going to be used to wrap up the chapter. But man, I did not plan for it to be so long._

_Darn, now I have grown to like the three kids and the caretaker. Which means I'll want to write them in the story more often. Oh well, that can be a good thing since they can fill in some of the gaps I still have in the story. One of them might even get the chance to play a big role in the future. The possibilities are endless!_

_Also, a few days ago I tried to write down the summary for Book 1._

_Hoping that I'd finally be able to figure out how to end it._

_But I ended up writing a short summary of all three books (mainly ended up focusing on book 3)_

_Good news for the future but not for the present._

_Book one is very tough cause it contains a part I couldn't figure out. And as I wrote the chapters, I knew that part was getting closer. Lucky for me (and for my readers) after recently reading a new fanfic I got a possible answer. You can't imagine how happy I am, now I won't be stressing about it and I can focus on the rest of the story._

_Oops, sorry to bother you with all this pointless drabble. I like to comment a lot._

_I'll get back to writing the next chapter._

_Hope you enjoyed this!_

_Comment if you can, they help this writer relieve stress._


	19. A Tranquil moment

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Though I'm working more on getting the main plot down. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina (that will be in book three) Most of this book will center on them building a closer friendship. Hope you guys are patient since this will take a **long** time to finish writing._

* * *

_

_** Ok so, really wanted to post this before the day ended so I didn't check for typos. If I can I'll go over it tomorrow and fix any errors. **_

_New chapter, trying to get back to the swing of things after taking another pause in writing to work on my drawings. _

_Drawing is my passion so I spend most of my time doing that. But as I've written this story my love for writing has grown rapidly. _

_The once old interest in just trying to write chapters to tell a tale I had in my mind is gone. Now I want to think this story out and do the best I can to provide an entertaining and enjoyable story._

_So I will rack my brain to think of good ideas to use for each book. _

_Though I wish I could write as well as some of my favorite writers. (most of which have written great NaruHina stories)_

_Oh well, hope my skills are enough for you, my readers 3

* * *

_

**Chapter 19**

_A Tranquil moment _

Tsunade looked out her office window, observing the early risers as they commenced their daily rituals. From the elderly man who took his daily brisk walk across the nearby streets of his home, to the young children who playfully chased each other through their neighborhood. Whatever task each person was doing, there was on thing they all had in common; a happy disposition. Every villager that the blonde Hokage could spot wore a cheerful expression.

"It sure is a nice sight to see."

The blonde woman turned to smile at her assistant and close friend. "So true Shizune."

Konoha had been experiencing troubles since the death of the fourth Hokage. After Tsunade took over there were a lot of things to work on, which did not please the woman a bit. Finally after much hard work and as time passed, it seemed the village was treated to it's share of peace and tranquility.

'_May it last as long as possible.' _the blonde woman thought to herself. Her thoughts were soon halted when a knock was heard coming from her office door.

"Yes?" the Hokage questioned, "Who is it?"

"It's Sakura," the voice replied, "I'm here for the meeting."

Tsunade motioned for Shizune to let the teen in. Moments later the rest of the teens assembled.

"Thank you for coming today," the blonde woman began, "I have called you all here to discuss a very important matter." she signaled to her assistant.

"Right," Shizune responded, opening the folder she held in her hands. "As everyone knows, we recently found an orphaned child in the village. This child was found by Hinata Hyuuga approximately one month ago, correct?"

"Yes," the heiress responds meekly.

"At first, we thought the child was a possible spy for another village." A couple of listeners stifled a chuckled. It was funny now to think of the panic and trouble the small child had caused. Shizune continued after the room was silent again, "But we soon learned of the child's identity and of her circumstances. It was then we also learned that Hinata Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki were also involved in all of it."

The blonde Hokage shot the blond boy a small glare, remembering all the trouble he had caused her. The council elders were a pain to deal with, as were the headaches they produced. Naruto turned away from the Hokage's glare and instead opted to turn his attention to the wall on his right.

"After we gathered the two teens and the child and heard their explanation, Lady Tsunade made her decision and put the child in the orphanage. But the matter did not end there. A few weeks later two people posing as relatives of the child came and took her away. At first we did not suspect anything. It was only after the child's dog came to us that we knew something was wrong."

Tsunade motioned to Shizune that she would take it from there. "I gathered up two teams and sent them to search and retrieve the child. They returned a few days later with the unconscious child. That is all we have on this case so far, is there anything else anyone would like to add concerning events before the abduction? No? Good."

The blond woman stood up and walked towards her office window, "Now I'd like to hear the report on your most recent mission. Kiba, Hinata, Shino, why don't you three go first."

Kiba nodded, deciding to speak for his team, "After leaving the village we followed the pup to the last place she was with the child. After picking up her scent and losing their trail several times we came across two rotting corpses. Based on the clues around the scene we determined that the two bodies belonged to the group that kidnapped the girl. Further ahead we found the man who had killed his comrades and confronted him. That's when Naruto and the others took over."

"Alright Naruto, Shikamaru and Lee, which of you three would like to tell us what happened next?"

Sighing, the black-haired teen raised his hand, "I guess I'll speak." he pause momentarily, "Our team was to stay in the shadows and wait for the right moment to strike. So I devised a plan of attack and gave Naruto and Lee their instructions. The purpose of the plan was to ensure the escape of team eight and the child. While they escaped Naruto and Lee fought with the man. Though the man did manage to knock Lee out."

"And for my failure on the mission I have devised a training regimen that will strengthen me up for the next time. **I will not fail again**!" the green clothed boy exclaimed energetically.

Shikamaru let out another sigh, "Anyway, we had the man in our grasps but he decided to end his life before letting us capture him. With a thrust of a vial he sent a liquid to dispose of his entire body. And that was the end of that. We hurried back home to get Lee treated."

Tsunade took all the information in, asking the teens a few questions and hearing more detail on certain events. A few minutes later she spoke, "So all that we know now is that someone is after the girl. There's no doubt that the group pf men were working for someone much more powerful. The question is who and for what do they need the child."

So many questions and no hope for a quick answer, the peacefulness of the village did not look like it was going to last much longer.

"So what do we do now granny?"

"The only thing we can do is wait and see if they strike again. I'll be sure to send someone to find out more about this. Hopefully we can find out a little about all this. For now I suggest you all head home, there's nothing else that can be done at the moment. I will go check on Inari later today, maybe she might be able to tell us something about those men."

Tsunade dismissed them all, Lee and Shikamaru were the first to leave. Sakura trailed behind, taking the time to discuss her training with Tsuande. Shino walked ahead as Kiba, Hinata, and Naruto followed behind.

"Hey Hinata, Shino and I are going to do some light training. Do you want to join us? We can visit Inari after we're done."

The blue-haired heiress played with her fingers nervously the thing she wanted most at that moment was to be with Naruto. She wanted to stay with him, waiting for the time to pass so they could go visit Inari. That was what she wanted, but she had just one problem. She was not sure how to deny Kiba's offer. The heiress did not have the confidence to say outright her desire to stay with her crush. Which pegged the question; would he mind if she stayed with him?

She glanced to her side to look at her crush, he looked at her with wondering eyes, waiting to hear her answer.

"Well Hinata? Do you want to join us? You've got time to kill right?" Kiba asked, wondering why she was being so indecisive.

Hinata looked once more at Naruto, as if waiting for him to speak.

The silence was finally broken by Naruto, "Well then, I guess I should go grab a bite to eat, I'm starving."

Kiba nodded, "Sounds good to me, let's go Hinata, Shino. See ya around Naruto." With a wave he led his friends towards the door.

Hinata nodded and hesitantly followed them, turning to look at Naruto with a sad expression, he looked at her with a grin and a small wave. She hung her head in disappointment. Once again she had been too shy to express her true feelings and once again someone had made a decision for her. _'I really wanted to stay with Naruto, if only I had said something.' _the heiress thought to herself. 'I just didn't want to be a bother to him.'

"It is not fair to you or the people around you if you never speak the truth."

"Huh?" Hinata turned, noticing Shino walking by her side.

"You did not have to agree to come merely because Kiba invited you. He would have understood if you had other desires."

The blue-haired teen looked at him with a look of shock, "Ah, S-shino, how-"

"We cannot always guess what it is you want, therefore it's up to you to tell us. It's not too late to change your mind."

Hinata pondered her teammates' words carefully as they were told by Kiba to 'hurry up'.

* * *

"Hey, what's wrong? I don't think I've ever seen you eat without a smile on your face. Did the food not come out good?"

"No, it's great as always," the teen said with a grin, "I think I'm just tired from my last mission." A smile and a chuckle was enough to assure the man as he continued on with his work.

Meanwhile, the young blond sat in silence, left with only his thoughts.

'_I wonder why those people were after the kid? What use could a child be to them? We'll those three are gone, so I guess we shouldn't worry. Except granny said they were probably sent by someone stronger. If that's true we're going to have to keep an eye on Inari at all times. There's still many things we don't know…'_

"Oh Naruto, I thought you'd be here."

The blond teen turned his head, surprised to see who he saw, "Huh? What are you doing here?"

* * *

"You turn **right **at this corner!"

"No you don't. It was **left** at the corner and then **straight ahead **until you reach the tree!"

"Ha! Shows what you know, those directions are completely wrong!"

"And how would you know? You weren't even listening to the headmaster!"

"I was listening. In fact, how about we split up and see who get's there first?"

"Fine with me, I'll be waiting for you there. And you better not cheat by following me!"

"Yeah right, if I follow you I'd wind up at the front gate!" the boy laughed, walking ahead.

Not wanting to get beaten, the blonde girl sprints to the corner. In doing so she accidentally runs into a passer-by.

"Ally!" Quickly Kent runs up, catching the girl before she falls. "Geez, watch where you're going."

The blonde girl prepared to unleash her comeback when-

"Man, kids are so troublesome."

* * *

"So why the frown?"

"I dunno, I guess I'm just not in a cheerful mood right now."

"Is it cause you're worried about her?"

"No way, why would I be worried? They're just training, I don't think there's any reason to worry about her."

"Huh? Training? Wait, who are you talking about?" she asked with a puzzled look, "Because I'm talking about Inari."

"Oh," he grin sheepishly, "Sorry, I was talking about Hinata."

"Hinata? Why did you think I was talking about her?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"I don't know. Why did you think I was talking about Inari?"

"Well you looked sad and since she's still unconscious I thought maybe you'd gone to see her today."

"No, I'm waiting until later when she wakes up. I was planning on going to see her with Hinata but… she's going to go with Kiba." Naruto grumbled the last part, catching Sakura's attention.

'_I wonder,' _the pink-haired teen mused a bit before speaking, "The nerve of that guy, you should be the only one spending time with her!"

"Yeah-! Wait, what?" the blond gave his teammate a look.

Sakura tried not to laugh, "Well Naruto, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were jealous of Kiba."

"Me, jealous of Kiba?" the look on the blond was of complete bafflement. "Why would I be jealous of him?"

"Hmm, oh no reason," the pink-haired teen said innocently, "It's just that you seem to be a bit angry at him."

"Well that's just cause he keeps taking Hinata away from me, like he doesn't want her to be around me." Naruto pouted. "I dunno why, It's not like id hurt her or anything."

"Not physically, but you might hurt her in a way that's even more painful," Sakura mumbled sadly.

Naruto didn't hear hurt, his thoughts on Hinata. Wondering how many more chances he'd be able to hang out with her if Kiba kept getting in the way.

"Look Naruto, I know you've just gotten to be good friends with Hinata, and you don't want that to end. But you can't keep worrying about that."

"I know that, It's just that…" the blond's words halted, unable to take form.

"Just what?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked in confusion.

"I'm not sure," the blond replied sadly. "I just know that **I **want to be the one to go with Hinata to see Inari."

Sakura pondered carefully, not wanting to say the wrong thing. It was not her place to poke too deep into the boy's inner feelings.

"There's your problem," she huffed, "You're getting all possessive with her, I mean geez Naruto, she's not an object. You can't have her all to yourself you know."

"I know that." the young teen grumbled, pausing when he saw Sakura smirk at him. His eyes fell to the ground, "I mean, maybe…"

"Naruto?"

The blond's voice came out in a whisper, "Maybe I have been acting a bit like that." His face shot up, "But It's just because I don't want Kiba to take my place."

Sakura looked at him in confusion, but before she could ask the blond continued speaking.

"I'm the one who was there to help Hinata and Inari. So it's only fair that I'm there with her when Inari is involved, right?"

"So then," the pink-haired kunoichi sighed, "that's the conclusion you came to? There's no other reason you can think of that could explain why you're upset with him?"

"Hey that's a pretty good reason!" the teen huffed, "He can hang out with Hinata, just not when there's something already planned between me and Hinata. I mean jeez, what other reason could there be?" he waved his hands angrily in the air.

"Yes, there's no other possible reason is there." Sakura frowned, it seemed her previous thoughts of jealousy were completely off.

"Yeah, that's why I was kinda sad when Hinata went with them. Though I guess that was kinda my fault. It didn't look like Hinata could decide whether to go or not. When she looked at me I had a feeling she wanted to go with them but didn't know how to tell me. So I made up the excuse that I wanted to go eat at Ichiraku's and that was that. Hinata agreed to go with Kiba and I came here."

"I see." Sakura merely spoke, not knowing what she could possibly say that would help.

"Thanks Sakura," the blond grinned, "Talking about it with you help me realize I was being silly. There's no way Kiba's trying to replace me."

"Yeah," Sakura snorted, "No one could or would want to replace you."

"Sakura!" the blond teen pouted, all the while his pink-haired teammate stifled her laughter.

* * *

"I guess we were both wrong." Ally pouted, not used to admitting her mistakes.

Kent merely kept quiet, he wasn't about to admit his error.

The two nine year olds had been walking silently for the last five minutes. After running into a teenage boy, Ally had decided to ask him for directions. With a sigh the teen told them a quick route to the hospital. Much to the embarrassment of the two kids, their owns directions had been way off.

"We're here." the braided girl spoke softly.

"Don't need you to tell me," the short haired boy grumbled.

Both of the kids stood quietly outside the hospital doors. They watched as people went in and out until they hear a voice behind them.

"Hey hey! Ms. Bell, they're already here!"

Ally and Kent turned to the voice, a few feet away stood a chestnut haired little girl.

Her brown eyes turned and looked at them with a pout. "You guys are in big trouble! No fair trying to see Inari first!"

The blonde girl shook her head, "No Addie, we didn-" Her sentence was cut short as a scruffy haired figure ran past her.

Quickly the little boy entered the hospital, with a few glances left and right he saw his next destination.

A short haired young woman yawned loudly behind the front desk. While she enjoyed the peacefulness that had hit the village, that resulted in very little happening around the hospital. Besides a few injured genin the only other people to arrive were there for their regular check-up. Which meant boring gaps throughout the day.

Directly in front of her stood a small child, his presence hidden completely from her. Hazel eyes stared up at the front desk, it was a good foot and a half higher than him. Therefore he could not see the woman and she could not see him. Daniel frowned, his frustration clearly evident. There was only one thing he could do.

Ally walked past the hospital doors, the rest of the orphans, as well as their caretaker, followed behind her.

"I see him!" Addy said, pointing to the front desk. The others looked towards the direction, only to see a small child jumping up and down. The young woman at the front desk didn't seem to notice the boy at all.

Seeing that his leaps were of no use, Daniel did the only thing else he could think of to get the woman's attention.

"HWEEY!" he screamed from the top of his lungs, "I need hwelp ovur here!"

The short-haired woman stood up in surprise, but the shock quickly left. "Hey kid, don't you know where you are? This is a hospital, you can't just come in here shouting. The patients here are trying to rest." Sure the woman knew that most of the patients were residing on the other side of the hospital, but that didn't mean he could disrupt her impromptu sleep.

"I dun care, I wanna see Inawi!" the boy's hazel eye's stared sharply at the young woman.

Determined eyes stared fiercely at her. Such eyes were usually worn by men whose life was spent fighting to protect the ones important to them. Men like the ninja that protected the village. The young woman quickly shook her thoughts away, it was obvious the long boring work hours were taking their toll on her. "I-I'm sorry, who are you looking for?"

"Inawi!" he screamed.

"Now now Daniel, what have I told you about yelling?" The young woman's attention snapped to the gentle voice approaching her. She had long back hair and dark eyes.

The scruffy haired boy pouted, "Sowwy ma'am. Could you pwease tell me where Inawi is?"

"She was admitted here yesterday." Ms, Bell kindly added.

"Let's see…" the young woman reviewed the charts, "Ah yes, she's right down that hall." she pointed with her hand, "Her room is the second door on the right."

Ally turned to Daniel, and watched as the small boy's eyes brightly shined. His whole form seemed to change instantly. "Let's go Daniel," she said cheerfully, the light-brown haired boy nodded seriously.

"Thank you very much," the gentle caretaker spoke, bowing to the woman at the front desk before leading the children away.

* * *

The sun shined warmly, clusters of wind gently made their way around the nearby trees.

Two teens sat quietly on a bench, both appeared to have something on their minds.

"Do you still think about him? I mean, like before?" her voiced filled with sadness.

A sad smile crossed his lips, "Nah, I'm done with that," his face turned upwards to the sky, "It took me some time, but eventually I understood everything you told me."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm glad, I was worried things were going to be ugly the next time around."

The blond grinned, "Heh, well I can only promise you that it won't be as bad as last time. I'm just going to make sure he doesn't do it ever again."

Both teens laughed joyfully, talking a bit more before a figure caught their attention.

A dark haired girl passed by, looking around as if she had lost something. She turns in their direction and motions to walk in their direction, but halts in her step.

Sakura notices her friend's hesitation, with a smile she rises from her seat and turns to her teammate. Without warning she grabs his arm and pulls him with her to their friend's direction. "Hey Hinata, what's up?"

The Hyuuga heiress hesitated before speaking, "Ah, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. P-please don't mind me, I'll just leave."

"Nonsense Hinata, we were just chatting about random stuff. Right Naruto?"

"Hinata, what are you doing here? Weren't you suppose to be training with Kiba and Shino?" the boy looked at the heiress in confusion, yet his eyes held a tint of happiness.

Sakura resisted the urge to smack Naruto for ignoring her question. _'I really should be used to his short attention span.'_ she giggled in mid-thought, _'though I guess I can understand it this time.' _

"Um, I-I just finished training with them." Hinata's head looked down, blushing red from Naruto's intense stare. "Um, Kiba offered to accompany me to see Inari but I…" she paused, her cheeks growing warmer, "I-i wanted to go w-with you."

Naruto's eyes widened, "R-really?"

The blue-haired girl shyly nodded her head shyly, whispering a few words. The blond obviously didn't catch anything, though his pink haired teammate did manage to catch a few words and giggle as a result.

"Alright you two, it's about time for me to go. I have to go make my rounds at the hospital. Inari's probably awake by now." The pink haired teen said, turning and heading towards the hospital. She waved goodbye to her two friends and they waved back.

The two teen walked calmly towards the hospital.

"I'm glad you decided to come with me Hinata," the blond grinned cheerfully, "I don't think the kid would have been happy to just see me there when she woke up."

The young heiress giggled softly, "Yes, I only wish I would have had the courage to tell my friends earlier that I didn't really want to train with them."

"Huh," the blond looked at her puzzled, "You didn't? Then why did you go with them?"

"Um," she played with her fingers nervously, "I, well I didn't know if…" she paused, hesitant to admit the next words, "I just didn't want to be a bother. S-since I'm always by your side since Inari came… I thought m-maybe you needed your space. T-that's why I left with them when you said you were going to go eat."

"Oh," Naruto paused to take in all his friends words. His face turned from serious to relief, "Heh, and here I thought maybe you were getting tired of hanging out with me. That's why I left, because I thought you wanted to spend some time with your friends."

"B-but, y-you're my friend too Naruto." Hinata said shyly.

Naruto smiled brightly, about to response back to his friend when something caught his eye. Hinata turned towards the same direction as the blond.

A small black haired pup with white hair on it's feet and chest came running up to them. With a happy bark the young critter jumped into Hinata's arms.

"Miyuki, you made it just in time." Hinata hugged the pup in her arms, receiving a few licks to her face as the pup's tail wagged happily.

"How did you get here girl?" Naruto asked, reaching out his hand to pet the pup, Miyuki simply barked a reply.

"W-well, after we finished our training, Kiba asked me if I wanted to take Miyuki with me. " Hinata looked down, smiling faintly at the young pup. "But she still hadn't eaten so, Kiba offered to go home, feed her and bring her to the hospital for me."

"Oh, but then why did she come running to us?"

"I'm not sure," Hinata said with a frown, "I suppose I took to long, Kiba did say he had something to do later today. Maybe he couldn't wait for me and simply sent Miyuki to find us."

"I guess that makes sense. Well then let's go."

"Y-yes."

* * *

"I'm glad she's okay," Ally said with a sigh.

"Geez, you worry too much about these things," Kent said offhandedly.

"Jerk," the blonde girl huffed, taking the two kids beside her by the hands and marching away from the older boy.

Kent merely pouted, walking reluctantly faster so as to catch up to his fuming friend.

Ms. Bell, their caretaker, had allowed them to walk on ahead and wait outside the hospital while the other two children said their goodbyes to Inari. Their group consisted of seven people, including Inari.

Naruto and Hinata walked right passed them as the nine year old boy apologized to his blonde friend.

"Hey, I think I remember those two kids," Naruto's face scrunched up in thought, "Yeah, they were the kids who were looking for Ichiraku's. They're from the orphanage."

"Do you think they came here to see Inari."

"I think so, I did tell them about it." the blond paused to look around before walking ahead. "Although I don't see the little boy around."

Hinata tilled her head slightly, "The little boy?"

"Yeah, he seemed to be kinda sad when he thought Inari was gone."

The shy heiress smiled, "I'm glad to hear Inari has friends who care about her."

Naruto nodded, "Yup."

The two teen made their way to the front desk and quickly asked about the location of the small child. When they arrived to the correct room they saw the doorknob start to turn.

"Okay Daniel, Addie, it's time for us to go. Say goodbye already, we can't let the others wait much longer." the dark-haired woman said.

Hinata and Naruto carefully stepped out of the way as the older woman walked out. She held the door open for them as she waited for the two children.

As the two made their way inside the room they quickly turned towards the bed. There they saw the small smile and joyful eyes of the little girl they had grown to care for. Though it was evident how tired the child was, there was no denying that her spirit had lifted slightly the moment they walked in.

"Hey," was all that came out of the young brown haired child, but it was enough for the two teens.

Hinata was the first to walk up to the girl. Carefully she embraced Inari and told her how happy she was to see her awake. Miyuki wriggled herself from the heiress and snuggled into her owner's lap. Naruto came up to them moments later. With a grin he ruffles the child's hair, telling her was glad to see her doing well.

"We hafta go now Inawi," Daniel said with a pout as he looked from Ms. Bell to Inari.

"If we can we'll come visit you again." Addie said with a bright grin, pulling the boy beside her.

"Okay," she said softly, smiling to her two friends.

The two youngsters waved goodbye as they made their way out the door.

"So those two are your friends?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, " Inari smiled warmly, thinking back to they day she met them.

Before either of them could say any more the door opened.

"Sorry you two, but I have a few things to ask the kid."

* * *

Yes the chapter ends here. It's more dramatic plus that way I can start the next chapter easier.

Sorry for the long boring beginning. It was mostly a recap of everything that had happened previously.

I'm sure a brief summary would have been better but this really helped me get back to the swing of things.

I haven't typed anything for a while now so I was a bit rusty.

Typing that helped me get back into typing mode.

Hope Sakura didn't come off too mean here.

I mean I know she gets mad easily and sometimes comes off a big aggressive.

But she does have a caring side so I want to express that as well.

Cause I used to not like her much but she's really started to grow on me. (not so much when she beats on Naruto)

Okay so maybe I don't really know how to describe it but there's something about her I like *sweat drop*

Oh my gosh this felt like it took forever!

It's because each scene that I planned got bigger than I expected.

Especially the last part! Since it was the end I guess I just couldn't type it right. (finally forced myself to finish it before Halloween ended.

But no excuses! I had all week to work on it but I kept putting it aside because I was lazy and a bit troubled. Darn me!

I must make it up to everyone and post 2 new chapters in November.

I just typed it so I must now do it. Comment and yell at me if I don't keep my word. (it's the only way I'll learn)

All reviews are welcomed!

I think I'll give the 100th reviewer a prize like I did to my 77th reviewer.

Prize will either be a one-shot or a picture. Check my profile for the link to my DeviantArt account. There you can check out my NaruHina art!

If you haven't already, go check out my one-shots. There's only 3 but if I get any more writer's block I'll probably write more.

Please tell me if you have any problems reading my fanfic. I tend to just from scene to scene in my fanfics so please tell me if that confuses or annoys you.

Thanks : )


	20. Speak, spill it, tell me now!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. However, I'm working more on getting the main plot down. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina (that will be in book three) Most of this book will center on them building a closer friendship. Hope you guys are patient since this will take a **long** time to finish writing.

* * *

_Jeez, with all these ideas I'm getting for Books 2 and 3 you'd think I'd try harder to finish book 1..._

_Hope this hasn't started getting boring,_

_Okay so times a ticking and I've just finished the first chapter. I'm sweating a little but I still have a week to write the next one._

_N-no pressure r-right…_

_I'm alright though, no matter what I'm keeping my word, two chapters this month._

_Let's go inspiration!

* * *

_

**Chapter 20**

_Speak, spill it, tell me now!_

Tsunade stood by the door, her arms crossed in front of her chest. The frown on her face clearly showed she was not there for friendly chat.

"Say granny, now's not the best time. The squirt just woke up and-"

"I'm sorry Naruto, but this can't wait. We have to act now before she forgets anything." The blonde Hokage's voice held authority, causing the two teens to wince.

Both Hinata and Naruto turned to the small child that lay on the bed. Her eyes drooped slightly, as she cradled the black-haired pup in her arms. Before either of the two could interject, Inari weakly spoke first.

"It's okay you guys," slowly she crooked her head up to Tsunade, indicating that she was ready for questioning.

The blonde woman cleared her throat, "Alright, first off what do you remember happening after you left the village."

"Well," Inari closed her eyes to think, "Well, we were walking out of the village and while a part of me was happy to be with them, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad about leaving everyone. So I though that maybe I could ask them a few questions to keep myself from feeling sad."

Tsunade raised her eyebrow, "What kind of questions?"

Inari sighed, "Questions about where they had been? How long had I taken them to get here? How did they know where to look for me?" her face scrunched up in thought, "I guess that should have been my first clue that something was off."

"Why is that?"

"Well, my uncle was never too good at finding things. He often misplaced his books, and even once thought he lost his pencil when it was in his left hand the whole time." she smiled at the fond memories, "You could say my aunt was no better, since she often lost her way around our home and even at her own home."

"So I guess you could say they were both a bit scatterbrained?" Tsunade spoke in a slight amused fashion.

"Yes," Inari's face was full of cheer momentarily, until she spoke once more. "Though I didn't think of that when I was asking them questions, I just continued with my questions. I asked them if they knew what had happened to my parent's home, and where we were going to live from now on. Things like that."

The blonde hokage stood there, straight-faced. "Their response?"

Inari shook her head, "They didn't say much. Most of the time they would just say, 'don't worry about it'." her dark brown eyes looked down, "That should have been the second clue. They always gave me a straight answer to any question I asked."

Tsunade pressed on, urging the child to continue.

"We walked for about five minutes, and then they struck. Before I knew it, a weird flask was thrown to the ground. After that, my mind suddenly went blank. After that I can only remember waking up here." Inari's eyes filled with anger, "Ugh, I still can't believe I was fooled by them. They're nothing like my uncle and aunt."

However, her anger soon turned to sadness, "Still, I-I can't believe they actually found me. I thought I had travel a far enough distance to escape them. W-what do they even want with me?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." Tsunade uncrossed her arms, bringing them down to her side. "Now can you tell me anything about the ones who did this?"

Inari shook her head solemnly, "All I know for sure is that they were the same group of men that killed my parents. For that instant when they revealed their identities to me, I recognized it was them. But that's all I know, I'm sure I've never met them before. Although…"

Everyone's attention was focused on the child.

The blonde hokage spoke, "Did you remember something about them?"

"No, not really. I just kind of remember something about my father. On they day they attacked our home, my father seemed to talk to them as if he had already met them before." the child started to tremble, "I'm sorry, I still can't really remember much about that day. Every time I try to I get kind of scared and my mind goes blank."

"It's okay, don't force yourself," Tsunade said, "I'm sure your mind is trying to protect you by blocking most of the memories from that day. If your force yourself to remember in the current state you're in, it could be dangerous to your mental health."

"Okay," Inari whispered, clutching her head until her headache disappeared.

The blonde hokage sighed, deciding to end the questioning for now. There seemed to be no use to continue, the child would not be able o give any more information. "Alright then, let's move on to other matters, concerning the girl's physical health."

Hinata, Naruto and Inari turned their heads towards the hokage, interested in what she had to say.

"We've kept her here over night and have done a complete checkup on her. Here are the results so far."

All three of them braced themselves.

"For the most part we expect Inari to make a full recovery," Tsunade announced. Naruto and Hinata let out a sigh of relief. "However, for the time being she will be experiencing some short term side effects."

The heiress and blond teen tensed up at her words.

"What kind of side effects," Inari weakly asked.

"Well for example, I'm sure you've noticed a loss of energy. That's to be expected, as well as dizzy spells, slight headaches, and sleepiness. Now, this is because she inhaled a dangerous amount of gas for someone of her age and size. Children are not usually exposed to this so it can often cause death if they are not treated within the day of exposure. But luckily we found her in time so there's no need to worry about that."

The last statement sent chills throughout the two teens, to think they could have lost her had they not found her in time.

"I guess that means Miyuki saved her life." Naruto grinned, petting the small pup.

"Miyuki?" Inari turned her head to the side questioningly.

"She came to us running, after those men gassed you," Hinata answered, "It's because of Miyuki that we were able to track you down and rescue you."

Inari grabbed the tiny pup, pressing her tightly to her body, "Thank you Miyuki, for always being there for me." The small black-haired pup wagged her tail rapidly, nuzzling her owner happily.

"Well then, I only have one more thing to say." the hokage announced, getting the attention of the ones in the room. "Besides the side effects I mentioned, you may also experience a loss of control over your chakra. This means that you may not be able to perform that little ability of yours until you recover. That's because your body was in a state of sleep for a few hours. Now that you're awake, it will take some time to get everything back to normal. It's a bit like when you wake up groggy. So for the meantime, you will need to rest and take it easy until your fully recover."

"Will I be staying here until then?"

"That won't be necessary; you only need to stay here for today. By tomorrow you will be able to return to the orphanage." Tsunade turned to leave, "I will be back later, make sure to not stay too long."

The teen said goodbye to the blonde woman and turned their attention to the child sitting on the hospital bed. Her face looked a bit pale and her spirits seemed low. It was safe to say that she was not the same cheerful four year old they had grown to know.

No one spoke; a silence soon engulfed the room. The quiet moment went on until…

"It's been a month," she whispered softly. This caught the attention of the two teens, they exchanged a puzzled look. "It's been a month since we first met," the small child's face started spilling tears, "a-and all this time I've caused you both nothing but trouble."

"Inari that's not true," Hinata gently wrapped her arms around the child, "While we may have encountered a few problems, we've also had a lot of fun times together. Wouldn't you agree?"

Inari's tears slowly subsided, "I-I guess."

Naruto brought his hand to the child's cheek, wiping away the stray tears that ran down her cheek. "This past month's been loads of fun, you've met so many new people," he grinned brightly, "and I'm sure they're just as happy as we are to have met you."

The dark-haired child's eye's widened, her tears came rushing down full force causing her to sob uncontrollably. All the tears she had held back before were following down her cheeks. Tears she refused to spill, when she found herself alone, without her parents. Those chilly nights she spent under the stars, when she tried so hard to suppress her tears as she drifted to sleep. Every tear represented a moment of pain in her life. She had promised herself not to cry and to move forward with courage and strength. However, all she had experienced, all the suffering, came barreling down on her the moment she heard the blond teen's words.

It had brought back a memory that caused her to cry… as well as a cherished memory…

* * *

_Inari walked the halls of her home in glee, her birthday present walking merrily beside her. _

_A longhaired woman calmly called out to her, telling her it was time for bed._

_The newly four year old settled herself into her bed as her two parents gently tucked her in._

"_Did you have a good birthday sweetie?" her father asked softly, which always caused the young child's cheeks to turn slightly pink. Her father always spoke with such a strong and true voice to the people of their land. His soft and gentle voice was reserved only to her mother and her. That fact made her feel very happy and special. _

"_Sweet dreams my darling," her mother said, leaning over and kissing Inari on her forehead._

"_Thank you mother, father, for everything."_

_They both smiled, "No my dear," her father spoke, "we are the ones who are grateful."_

"_Yes, because we were given such a wonderful daughter," her mom said, with such an elated face, "we could not ask for more."_

_Inari's face lit up, and slowly her eyes closed and she drifted into sleep.

* * *

_

"_No matter what happens to us Inari, we want you to escape and survive."_

"_B-but, I don't want to leave without you both," she spoke within sobs._

"_Go now my daughter, please. We will hold them off as long as we can."_

"_N-no," more tears escaped her eyes._

"_Never forget how much we loved you. You are our daughter, nothing will ever change that."_

"_We were happy to have been able to know you and be with you for these four years."_

"_Please forgive us if we end up causing you pain."

* * *

_

So, there sat Inari, clutching the heiress tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Inari, it's alright, please don't cry." Hinata gently reassured her.

Naruto scratched his head nervously, racking his brain for ideas of what to say and do.

"Say uh, shrimp," he cautiously began, "so… who were those kids that visited you today?"

Inari pulled her face away from the heiress, a questioning look on her face.

"I mean," Naruto continued, seeing that his idea was working, "I already met three of them last night at Ichiraku's, they said they knew you from the orphanage."

The brown haired child wiped the remaining tears from her cheek, "Yeah, they're all orphans like me."

"What about the two children that were with you before we arrived?" Hinata asked.

"The girl is named Addie, she's six years old. She's really nice; we play a lot around the orphanage. The boy is-"

"Oh yeah, the boy was one of the kids I met yesterday," the blond teen smiled, "He was pretty upset about you leaving."

Inari smiled faintly, "His name is Daniel. He was the first person to befriend me."

"How old is he?" the blond asked.

"Five."

"Five? I thought he'd be younger." Naruto's face scrunched up, "Maybe it was because of the way he speaks."

"Yeah," Inari laughed, "Not many people know this, but he actually speaks really well."

"Ehh? No way!" Naruto's eyes widened, "Then why does he speak like that?"

"Daniel has a tendency to mess up his speech when he's nervous or excited about something. He's actually really shy so even at the orphanage there aren't many instances where he speaks normally." Inari grinned, turning to the pup beside her, "The only one he can actually speak well with is Miyuki."

Said pup wagged her tail happily, barking a response.

The three youngsters chatted happily, sharing details of their past adventures and previous missions.

Time passed by without anyone noticing, until a young medical ninja entered to check up on the child.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt but Lady Tsunade asked me to do the last check up for the day." the girl said with a smile.

After checking the child's condition the pink-haired teen nodded and said, "Alright everything looks good guys, just make sure you get a good nights sleep, okay?" Inari nodded her head, her eyes struggling to stay open. Saying her goodbyes, Sakura smiled and made her way out the door.

The young child fought to stay awake as a sleeping spell suddenly came upon her. The sudden loss of energy was to be understandable, she had been crying a lot, that alone was enough to tire her at this moment. Add to that the interrogation and it was amazing that she wasn't falling face first into her pillow.

"Inari, you should rest for today, you've been through a lot." Hinata said, concern evident in her voice.

Naruto agreed as he gently tried to lower the child from her current sitting position.

Inari yawned as Miyuki made her way into the covers and settled to bed beside the child.

A faint voice was heard as the two teens turned to leave.

"Why, do you think those men are chasing me?" the voice was barely above a whisper. "Will there be more coming after me?" A frightened whimper escaped Inari's mouth as a single tear came running down her cheek. She was too tired to cry anymore.

Hinata slowly raised her hand and brought it towards the child's head, stroking it softly in an attempt to calm the child. With her soothing voice and her gentle touch, the teen Hyuuga was quickly able to lull the four year old to sleep. Cautious not the wake the child up, Hinata slowly removed herself from the bed and made her way to Naruto's side.

Both teens shared a look for concern. Though the threat had ended for now they knew they were not quite out of the woods yet. Without the identity of the person behind all this, it was hard to know what to beware of. For now, it was best to keep their focus on the recovery of the child and assure her safety within the village. The same trick wouldn't work on them again, and the hokage had assured them that the orphanage would be more cautious should anyone come for Inari once more.

Yet the blond teen knew, that these measures alone would not be enough. He had promised to protect the child and he would keep his promise. However, he knew he would have to get stronger. The man he fought was fairly easy to defeat, but the next time around they would probably send stronger opponents. If Inari was valuable enough for them, they would keep sending men out until they caught her.

Naruto turned to the blue-haired girl beside him, "Hinata," he spoke in a hushed tone, "In order to keep Inari safe, we'll have to start doing some serious training."

* * *

_Okay, chapter ends there because I say so._

_I know it's pretty short but I couldn't think of anything else to add. (I was able to had about 100 or so words while I was checking for typos)_

_I'll try harder on the next chapter._

_So yeah, a month has passed in the story. Moreover, it's only taken me like, what? Almost two years to write. *sigh*_

_Ack, I put this off for too long! Had to frantically rush to get it finished today._


	21. Getting back to normal

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. However, I'm working more on getting the main plot down. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina (that will be in book three) Most of this book will center on them building a closer friendship. Hope you guys are patient since this will take a **long** time to finish writing.

* * *

Phew, you don't know how hard I tried to write this in time.

Spent the whole day trying to write this up and finish it quickly. Barely made it before midnight.

Hooray for me, I was able to keep my word!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_Getting back to normal_

The sun's warm rays pierced through the hospital window, shining brightly on the face of a brown haired child. She shifted to her left, causing the small creature beside her to wake.

With a shake of it's fur the black haired pup let out a small yawn. After stretching it's small body, the pup launched herself onto her master, startling her awake.

"Ahh!" she gasped, rising to a sitting position. The pup beside her barked happily, her tail wagging rapidly.

Inari groggily rubbed her eyes, too tired to scold her pup. Besides, it was hard to get mad at a pup that was so clearly overjoyed to see her awake. It took a bit of work, but slowly she brought her hand up to the pup's head and stroked it gently.

"Thanks for worrying about me Miyuki, I'm still a bit tired but I'll be okay in no time." Inari let out a small smile, embracing the pup softly.

Breakfast soon came for the two as a nurse brought in their meals.

Both of them ate their food, exchanging smiles as they paused to chew. Suddenly a knock was heard. "come in," she announced, wondering who it could be.

The door slowly opened, as a young blue-haired girl made her way in, "Hello Inari, how are you feeling?"

"I'm still feeling tired and woozy, but not as much as yesterday."

"That's good to hear," the two turned around, and saw the blonde hokage entering. "Slowly but surely you will recover all your strength."

Tsunade moved to the child's bed and cheeked her vital signs. Afterwards she nodded her head and spoke, "Alright kid, whenever you're ready you can leave the hospital."

"Great," Inari said with a smile. She turned to Hinata who nodded her head.

Minutes later they were all set to leave. The hospital seemed so small as they stared at it from a distance.

"I hope I won't have to stay in that place again anytime soon." Inari said with a pout.

"Yes." Hinata said, nodding in agreement.

"Um," Inari spoke, looking around with a confused expression. "By the way," she turned to her left and right, "where is he?"

"Who?"

"Naruto. You know, blond haired boy that's always by your side." Inari cracked a smile, "Your boyfriend."

"Ehh?" Hinata squeaked, her cheeks turning bright red. She shook her head, "N-n-no, he's not m-my," her voice caught in her throat. The last phrase came out in a whisper, "m-my boyfriend…"

"Really?" the child feigned ignorance, "But you like him don't you?"

The heiress' eyes widened, her face now completely red. She bit her lip nervously, not wanting to lie to the young girl. "W-well, we're friends so um…"

"So you do like him." Inari stated rather than asked. She looked down at Miyuki, who was walking by her feet. They shared a laugh as Hinata took a deep breath, trying to calm her beating heart.

The three of them walked a few yards before Inari began again.

"But, where is he?" the four year old said with a pout, "Why didn't he come with you."

"Uh, he had something to do," Hinata responded, "But don't worry, he'll be at the orphanage waiting for us."

The brown haired child slowed her steps, something that didn't go unnoticed by the heiress.

"Are you feeling tired Inari?" she asked concerned.

"Just a bit," she said, clutching her head, "It feels like, all of a sudden, my energy is all gone."

Hinata kneeled down and looked Inari over, clearly concerned and unaware of what to do.

"Hey you guys, what's going on?"

Inari and Hinata looked up and saw two teen girls walking towards them.

The blonde haired girl looked at Inari and said, "So this kid's the one that you were talking about?"

"Yeah," the green eyed girl said, "You know her?"

The blonde turned her head, "I met her once, she came to my family's flower shop one day."

Inari looked up at the blonde, scrunching her face up in thought. She knew her, yet she just couldn't remember her name.

"Oh yeah, I remember you once told me about that Ino." the pink-haired girl let out a wry smile.

Ino put on a similar smile.

"That's right," Inari said, "Your name was Ino."

The blonde nodded her head, "Yup, that's me."

"But you can just call her Ino-pig," Sakura said with a smile.

"Oh yeah? Then she can call you forehead girl!" Ino said with evil eyes.

Sakura angrily turned to her blonde friend, "You wanna start something?"

"Ha!" Ino jeered, "Like I'd waste my time on you."

The two teens threw insults back and forth as Hinata and Inari just watched. Miyuki saw this as 'playing' and ran over, jumping and barking along with them.

"I guess this means I shouldn't call them either of those names?"

"Guess not."

"Well then, let's go."

Hinata nodded, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yup, my energy seems to be coming back." she said with a smile.

The heiress offered her hand to the small girl, Inari accepted it and the two walked together to the orphanage. Miyuki followed behind after adding one final back to the two teens who were still squabbling.

Inari leaned her head on Hinata's side as another dizzy spell overcame her.

As they arrived at their destination, they were met with an energetic teen.

"Hey, you finally made it." he said cheerfully.

For once Inari envied the blond boy and his energy. What she wouldn't give to be back to 100%.

"Well come one, everybody's waiting."

"Everybody?" Inari questioned.

Neither of the teens answered as they led her to the back of the orphanage.

The small, brown haired child was surprised when she saw the scene before her.

All the children in her group were there, gathered around a small round table, that held a medium sized cake. Their caretaker, Ms. Bell, was there as well as the headmaster.

"What is this?" Inari asked, completely confused.

A small, scruffy haired boy ran towards her, "Yur here!" he exclaimed happily. He stopped a foot in front of her and extended his hand out to her, "Let's go see evuryone."

Inari smiled, reaching her small hand out to his, "Okay."

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, If you could just look over and sign these forms right away," The black haired assistant said, placing the papers on the already cluttered desk.

"Geez Shizune, can't you see I'm already swamped?" the blonde woman sighed, what she wouldn't give for some sake right about now.

"I'm sorry, but these papers won't take too much of your time. They're about the mission Naruto and the others were just sent to. All they need is your signature."

"Let's see," Tsunade looked the papers over and signed them. "Ugh," she groaned, "This little kid is really becoming a hassle."

"Lady Tsunade, it's not her fault-"

"I know Shizune," the blonde hokage quickly interrupted, "I'm just frustrated about all this. With so little knowledge it's hard to know what to expect." The woman sat on her chair pondering it over, "We need to find some information," she looked up at her assistant, "summon _him_ here at once."

Shizune nodded, clearly knowing who _him_ was.

* * *

The children all gathered around their youngest member, asking how she was doing and if she enjoyed their surprise. She told them yes and thanked them for everything.

"The big blond teen came early to help us set up the table. The whole group pitched in to make the cake," Addy said with a grin., the kids behind her nodded.

"Yeah, and if I was you I wouldn't eat the frosting," Kent said with a smirk, "Ally made it."

The blonde girl glared at the boy, clearly telling him he would be in a world of hurt if he continued. She wasn't much on violence, but there were times where the boy really pushed her to the limit. While she never once hit him, everyone in the group knew Ally was not to be messed with. She'd proven that when she beat up a bully from the older group of orphans.

Kent laughed nervously, trying to act as if he wasn't completely scared. Satisfied with the boy's reaction, Ally turned her attention back on Inari. "So how are you feeling Inari?"

"I'm okay," she said weakly, fighting back a headache, "Though the side effects are annoying."

"Don't worry, they'll be gone before you know it," a pink haired teen said, walking in their direction with a friend in toe.

"Sakura, Ino," said a confused blond, "What are you two doing here?"

"I wanted to check on Inari," Sakura explained, "But I arrived at the hospital late so I decided to head over here. That's when I came across Ino and she asked if she could come with me."

"Yeah, I wanted to see her again" she said with a smile, moving her hands from behind her, "And give her these." In her hands she held a small bouquet of light blue flowers, "Hope you feel better."

"Wow," Inari was in awe at the beautiful flowers, "Thank you very much," she said with a smile, happily accepting the flowers. "Though I don't remember seeing any flowers with you when I met you earlier." Inari stated.

"I had them hidden behind my back the whole time, even when I was fighting with forehead girl here." Ino laughed, "I almost smacked her in the face with them too."

"Yeah but I stopped you in time," Sakura pointed out, "That's when we noticed you two had left and decided to head over here."

While the two girls talked the kids surrounded Inari, taking turns to sniff and look at the flowers.

Inari thanked Ally and Addie when they offered to put the flowers on a vase, but decided to do it herself. With Miyuki in toe she made her way inside, the rest of the six kids followed behind, discussing games they would like to play.

The four teens stayed outside alone, Ms. Bell and the headmaster had left awhile before to tend to other matters.

Bored, Ino and Sakura decided to have a little fun with their two friends. They whispered two each other and then spoke.

"So Naruto," Ino began in an innocent voice, "I heard you got a bit jealous yesterday."

Naruto's eyes widened, "I was not jealous, I was just upset." he clamped his hands to his mouth as soon as the words escaped him. Now he'd done it, he had played right into their game.

"Upset?" said a soft and meek voice.

Naruto slowly turned to the heiress beside him, a look of sadness was evident on her face. It was clear that she was going through her mind.

Sakura took her turn, "Oh that doesn't matter Ino, what matters is what cheered him up."

"Oh yeah? Pray tell Sakura," she turned to Naruto with an evil grin, "what was able to cheer him up?"

"Would you like me to tell her Naruto, or should I?" Sakura said with a bright smile.

The young blond teen huffed, "It was no big deal Sakura. I was just a bit sad but in the end I realized that I was being immature. That's all, end of story."

"Oh wow, now that's a big revelation." Ino said with a laugh, Sakura laughed as well.

In the midst of the discussion stood a confused heiress, "Um Naruto," she began nervously.

"What's up Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"M-may I ask why you were upset yesterday?" she bit her lip nervously, "W-was it something I-"

"Hey you guys!" Inari yelled from the door, "wait for me!"

All fours teens turned their head to their side, watching as the young group of orphans ran past them, yelling and laughing.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit relieved, he didn't know how to explain his mood the other day without lying to the Hyuuga teen. Lucky for him that the kids came running out when they did. Before Hinata or any of the other girls could bring up the subject once more, Daniel spoke.

"Can we have sum cake?" he asked Inari who turned to Hinata.

"We're not allowed to use a knife." she explained, Hinata nodded and turned to the three teens.

Naruto grinned, "Alright, time for cake!"

"I suppose I could have a small slice," Ino said, turning to Sakura, who nodded in agreement.

Everybody gathered around the round table, they passed out plates and waited for their piece. Despite it being their first time baking, the cake had come out quite well. Granted, Ms. Bell had supervised them the whole time and explained each step carefully.

The rest of the time was spent happily. Eating cake and chatting about anything they could think of. For the children the dessert gave them the energy to play a few games before the sun set.

As night came the four teens said their goodbyes to the seven orphans and headed home.

Naruto and Hinata promised to come back the next day. Inari was excited after hearing Naruto say he might show her his summonsing jutsu.

For Inari, the day had gone quite well.

* * *

Tsunade let out a sigh, placing the paper on the desk before her. Finally, after three hours, the paperwork was complete.

A knock was heard coming from the door, causing the blonde woman to frown. '_That better not be Shizune with another stack of papers.' _she thought menacingly.

Reluctantly, Tsunade beckoned the visitor in.

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune said, opening the door carefully, "he's here."

The blonde hokage nodded and sat back on her chair as Shizune led the man in and offered him a seat. With a bow she excused herself and exited out the door.

"Alright then, let's get to the point," Tsunade brought her hands together and leaned over her desk, "Here's what I want you to do…"

* * *

So yeah, this was even less words than before. Sorry, but these chapters just didn't have much to say.

It's my fault really for putting it off until today. I could have worked on it a bit yesterday and then I wouldn't have had to rush myself.

Anyway, i really think I'm starting to lose my writing skills.

Not that I had any to begin with.

Sorry if this story is getting boring and it seems to have no real direction.

I can't promise you it will get any better. All I can promise is that this book, along with the next two, will be written completely.

Hmm, I'd like to say I'm halfway through book one but, I honestly have no clue.

Didn't spell check this chapter, ran out of time. I'm sure it's fine though.

If you see any big mistakes please tell me.

Comment if you want.

Remember, either a drawing or a one-shot will be given to the 100th reviewer. (if you're interested)


	22. Time no longer stands still

_**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me._

_**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina (that will be in book three) Hope you guys are patient since this will take a **long** time to finish writing._

_Ps: This story takes place some time after the Chunnin exams. Everything up to the exams follows the manga._

* * *

First and foremost, I must apologize whole-heartedly for not updating in so long.

I won't bore you with excuses; just know I feel terrible about taking so long. Though I can't guarantee it won't happen again.

Apologies in advance.

I'm not sure how many have abandoned the story and how many are new to it all. What I will say it that I hope those that are reading this enjoy the new chapter.

Um, since it's been over half a year since I last updated, I thought I'd include a quick summary of what's happened so far.

Let's see…

_A four year old suddenly becomes an orphan after a gang of men kill her parents and most of the people of her town._

_Inari and her pup, Miyuki, travel along in search for a safe place to live._

_One day she runs into Hinata and get's knocked unconscious accidentally._

_After being treated in the hospital, she is taken to the orphanage and Miyuki is taken to the pound._

_Inari unlocks her hidden ability, snatches Miyuki and runs away._

_Hinata, Sakura and Naruto are sent to find and retrieve her,_

_Hinata finds her and agrees to help her out. Later she runs into Naruto who volunteers to keep Inari at his place._

_The two teens plan a way to keep Inari hidden. All while avoiding being caught by anyone._

_Eventually they decide the truth must come out and tell their Hokage, Tsunade, everything._

_She agrees to keep Inari and Miyuki together at the orphanage._

_Everyone rejoices until Hinata and Naruto are both sent on missions. When they return they find out Inari has left the village._

_Miyuki suddenly returns to them very weak. Tsunade sends two teams to find the child._

_The three men who killed Inari's parents turn out to be the one's who kidnapped her. Their boss is revealed as a terrifying and powerful man._

_Naruto and the others quickly rescue Inari and head back home. Inari has no recollection of what happened. It also looks like her hidden ability has gone back to being hidden._

_Tsunade, worried more will come for the child, summons a mysterious man to go in search of clues that could help them unravel the mystery behind the young child._

There, I think that's more or less what happened.

You're caught up now so, onto the story!

* * *

**Chapter 22**

_Time no longer stands still_

Stacks of paper cluttered the shorthaired woman's desk as she began to sort them accordingly. The signed forms took little space as most to the papers were awaiting the Hokage's approval. Shizune noticed the door to the office was still closed after she finished filing all the completed documents. "I wonder how much longer they'll be talking?" she asked her small pink companion.

Before the little pig could respond, the door to the Hokage's office opened and out walked two figures. With a few parting words the man walked out of the building as the other figure returned to where Shizune stood.

The black-haired assistant approached the blond Hokage as she made her way back into her office, "Lady Tsunade, how did everything go?"

With a sigh the blonde-haired woman said, "It went as well as could be expected, all that's left now is to wait for the results."

"Do you…" Shizune turned towards the empty hallway, "do you think he'll find anything?"

"For the child's sake, and for the sake of those determined to protect her, let's hope it's nothing we can't handle." Tsunade rubbed her head, reaching into her cabinet and pulling out a bottle of sake.

Few times did Shizune allow the blonde Hokage to drink during the work hours, this seemed to be one of those times.

* * *

"So Inari, what are we going to do today?" Addie said cheerfully, rocking back and forth with the soles of her feet.

"Dunno," Inari said with a serious face, brushing Miyuki's short black fur. The small pup titled her head to the side, hoping that her master would not stop brushing her anytime soon.

The chestnut haired six year old sighed, "Geez Inari, way to come up with a good idea."

"Why don't you come up with something?" replied the four year old in a monotone voice.

"I did," Addie proclaimed, "It's just that I can't decide what to do first. See there's tag, hide the toy, climb a tree, climb the big kids…" A knock at the door soon interrupted the girl's long list of activities. With a turn of her shoes, she walked over and opened the door.

In walked a light brown haired boy, his hands tucked into his jacket. Nervously he stared up and looked over at Inari. Said girl looked up and turned to see who had knocked.

"Hey Daniel, what's up?" she said, a bit of cheer in her voice.

Addie noticed this and huffed in annoyance.

Danie simply looked away, an embarrassed expression on his face. It took him a few minutes to finally speak, "Um, Inawi, can um… can I go pway outside with Miyuki?"

The small pup's ears perked up as she recognized the soft voice that spoke. In an instant Miyuki got up and wagged her tail happily. Without warning, she ran under Inari's bed, grabbed her green ball and brought it to the little boy. Daniel took his hands out of his jacket and grabbed the ball from Miyuki's mouth.

"Okay, let's play catch!" he said with a grin. Miyuki barked in response and ran off with the five year old, all before Inari even said a word.

"Yeah sure Daniel, you can take Miyuki." Inari said sarcastically, looking up at Addie. "You notice he always speaks correctly when he talks to Miyuki."

"That's probably cause she's a dog," the small girl pointed out, "Daniel loves any and every kind of animal, he's always been more comfortable around them."

"Yeah I know, but that doesn't apply to all animals, right?"

"Um, it might."

"What about snakes?"

"Well, maybe with the non venomous ones."

"Worms?"

"I've seen him play with those."

"Ferocious bears with long sharp claws and rabies?"

Addie paused in her response, "Well now you're just being silly, who'd feel comfortable around a creature like that?"

"True," Inari sighed, joining the girl beside her in thoughts of what to do to end their boredom.

"Hey you two, what'cha doing?" a blond girl with braids said, poking her head in from outside their door.

Both Addie and Inari jumped slightly before turning to their friend. "Ally you scared me!" they both said in unison.

"Oops, sorry," she said sheepishly, "Kent and I were just wondering if you have anything planned today Inari."

"Nope, why?" Inari asked curiously.

"You really don't have anything planned?" Kent said, entering the room after Ally, "Nothing at all?" Inari shook her head in response. "What about those two who always come visit you?" the boy asked.

"Oh yeah, why haven't they been here lately?' Ally asked curiously, "It's been like a week hasn't it?"

"Yup," the small four year old sighed," They all left for a mission, came back and were sent on a new group mission almost immediately. All I know is that they won't be back for at least a few more days," she pouted, her arms crossing over her chest.

Two weeks had passed since she was dismissed from the hospital and all the side effects were gone.

However, there was still one problem…

It was the second day after the party at the orphanage and Inari, Hinata and Naruto were out training in the woods. The day before involved a funny story about Naruto and his summoning jutsu. Of course, he didn't find it as funny as the others did. But well, that's a story for another day.

Back to the problem.

Naruto and Hinata had decided to train for two main reasons. One was to prepare for the next time they would take the chuunin exams. Not much information was available on where or when the exams would take place, but Tsunade had said it was better to be prepared.

She had urged everyone who was interested in participating to start training now before it was too late.

The second reason was to get stronger in order to protect Inari. Since no new information had been found, it was hard to know just how strong their opponent was. One thing was sure; they had to get stronger.

So on that day, Naruto suggested they start training Inari on her teleporting ability. However, as soon as Inari started to use any of her chakra, she found she wasn't able to teleport.

* * *

"_I-I can't remember how to do it anymore." Inari shook her head weakly. _

_Hinata and Naruto shared a look of concern. The Hokage had warned them that her body wound still be a bit wonky from the gas but that slowly everything would come back to normal. They had hoped this would not mean she would be defenseless for a long period of time._

_The blond boy had suggested they start from the beginning and re-teach her everything. However, that task was easier said than done._

_Before, Inari was able to tap into her ability by using her emotions to summon it forth. But now she found she couldn't._

* * *

"**It's not fair!**," Inari shouted all of a sudden, surprising the three kids around her.

"Woah, what's wrong?" Kent questioned.

As if reading the girl's mind Ally said, "Still bummed you can't teleport anymore?"

"Yeah," Inari said solemnly, "I just wish I could do it like before, but it's hard since I'm not scared anymore."

"But, those creeps are still out there somewhere," Ally pointed out.

"That's right; they could appear any day without warning." Kent added.

"And without your ability thingy, you don't stand a chance of escaping," Addie chipped in.

"Geez, thanks for making me feel so safe and secure guys. I'm sure I won't have any problems sleeping tonight." Inari said sarcastically. She brought her legs up to her chin and hugged herself tightly. "I know all that, still…" The small child brought her head up, her eyes held a sparkle in them, "I think I'm safer here, in Konoha, than any other place."

Ally, Kent and Addie stood in silence, waiting for the four year old to continue.

"I used to run from town to town, never looking back. There was nowhere to go, no one to turn to. But then I met Hinata and Naruto. When I'm with them, I feel safe, because I know they'll protect me from danger. They've proven that to me more than once." Inari said with a smile.

"Well if you're having trouble teleporting why not ask Kayla for help." Addie said, suddenly coming up with the idea.

"Kayla?"

"Oh yeah, she's kind of smart at this ninja stuff. After all, her husband is a high class and well respected ninja. The big kids are always showing off all the stuff that they say they learned from her," Kent said, turning to Ally who nodded her head in agreement.

With that, the four kids raced down the stairs into the back yard of the orphanage. There they walked towards a young woman with long black hair. She was breaking up a fight with two of the older boys when they approached her.

Kent quickly explained the situation and asked the woman for advice.

"Hmm, I can see why you're having problems," she said still thinking, "The key to learning how to use your ability is through your emotions correct? Well then we just need to find some other feeling that can activate your power."

Inari's hope suddenly grew, "Okay, but what emotion should I use?"

"Good question, fear was already a pretty good trigger." Kayla paused to think, "There are many kinds of emotion at our disposal. The key is to find one that's easy to tap into as well as strong enough to unlock your powers."

The group of youngsters stared up at her questionably. Before they could even ask, the young woman grabbed Inari and began going through the steps of her newly though up plan.

After a few hours, Inari collapsed onto the grass and drifted to sleep. Addie and the rest of the children played nearby, making sure they had her in their sights at all times. The last thing anyone needed right now was another kidnapping.

* * *

Daniel and Miyuki returned from their afternoon adventures just a little before dinner was ready. Inari groggily emerged from the backyard along with the rest of her friends. The boy and pup approach her.

"Had fun?"

"Yup, lots. What about you?"

"Um, not sure training can be called fun." the brown eyed child rubbed her eyes, "At least not as fun as playing fetch all day."

"Did you learn sumtin?"

Inari smiled wryly, "Oh, you'll see."

All the orphans gathered at the dining room and sat at their preferred tables. Dinner was shortly served.

* * *

"One more time!"

With a nod, she stood up and tried once more.

"That's better, try once more. Only this time put some effort into it!"

"Right!"

In the distance, you could see the sun had started to set, however their training was not over yet. Sweat dripped down the small girl's face and body as she sat there, trying to catch her breath.

A light brown haired boy watched nervously, with a slight nudge from his companion he approached the two.

The training had been going for a few days now. Inari was pushing herself to the limits and her trainer, Kayla, was pushing her beyond them.

Her usual personality as a caretaker was quite different from her present self. As Inari's self-appointed trainer, she was very strict and demanding. However, Inari seemed to have no complaint about it, she wanted to improve as fast as possible. Her stubborn attitude served her well in her training as she refused to quit until she improved.

Nevertheless, the boy though enough was enough. With hesitant steps, he approached the winded girl and spoke, "Inawi um…"

"Just a second," Inari breathed out, "I'm going to get it this time." With her hands in front of her, she went through the steps once more. However, she was stopped when a hand came up and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Y-you need to stop now," Daniel said hesitantly, his eyes the only sign of his seriousness.

Kayla approached the two kids and said, "He's right, it's getting late and the sun won't be around for much longer."

The small brown haired girl was about to protest but her stomach betrayed her as it let out a hungry noise. "Guess it is almost time for dinner."

With that, the three entered the orphanage and got ready to eat.

* * *

The next two days were tougher than ever for the young four year old. Training was turned up a notched by the ever-scary trained Kayla. Neither the children nor the caretakers dared to approach the woman when she was training Inari. Only the headmaster was brave enough, but she was far too busy with other matters to concern herself with them.

Inari didn't mind though. Kayla was tough but fair and was quite aware at Inari's limits. Inari herself had even instructed the young woman on just how far to push her. In fact, Kayla's main role in the training was to ensure Inari didn't push herself too much and provide the child with support.

The second day of training was coming to a halt as the sun set for the day. The children were all called inside for dinner as Inari gulped down some water to replenish herself. Daniel and the rest of the kids from the group all waited by the door as their small friend made her way back indoors.

After eating and taking a bath, Inari put on her pajamas and entered her room. There she found Addie talking with Ms. Bell.

"Inari, guess what?"

"What?"

"We're going on a field trip tomorrow!" Addie said with excitement.

Inari's expression didn't change but curiosity was evident in her eyes. She had never gone on a field trip but she had heard about it once. According to her mother, field trips were outings, usually taken in groups to destinations that were either fun or informative. After the past three days of harsh training, the brown-eyed girl could only hope this trip was a fun one.

"The place has yet to be determined." Ms. Bell said, breaking Inari away from her thoughts.

"That's why she's here Inari, " Addie pointed out, "All the staff is going from room to room asking where would be a good place to go. So far, the older kids and the younger kids have been suggesting very different places. Where do you think we should go?"

"Hmm," the small girl paused in deep thought.

* * *

The sun had set, leaving the sky dark and empty. One by one, the stars took their place high above the clouds. With a small gust of wind, a few clouds parted, revealing to the peaceful village below, the full moon above. The moon acted like a beacon, lighting the way back home for four weary travelers.

"Looks like we made it back early guys." stated the self-appointed leader of the group. She stretched her joints as the other three caught up to her.

"Yeah, no thanks to your clumsy teammate." the dark haired boy grumbled, he had been against this team selection since the beginning.

His quiet teammate however, stepped in to defend the so called clumsy teen, "B-but he didn't mean to-"

"He never means to do anything, that's why he's so useless." The dark haired boy shot back, he was clearly in no mood to listen to any excuses.

Suddenly, without warning, the two boys turned and glared at each other. Both boys' tempers seemed to heat up as they readied their fists. The taller of the two decided to attack first and went for the other boy's face. Before the hit landed, one of the girls stepped in and grabbed the boy's fist, stopping him in his tracks.

"Enough guys, I'm tired, let's just go report to the Hokage," she huffed, sending the boys a look that quickly cooled their hot heads.

"Yeah, the sooner we go the sooner I can get something to eat," the shorter boy said, turning to the quiet girl at his side, who simply nodded her head.

"And the sooner I can make sure to request for some time off." The dark haired boy announced to the other teens as well as to his animal companion.

* * *

"Alright girls, thank you for your input. I'll be sure to talk it over with the other caretakers," the woman said, jotting down the suggestions on a piece of paper she carried. "It's getting late so I expect you two to get to bed in the next few minutes. Am I making myself clear? You'll want your energy for the field trip."

"Yes Ms. Bell," the two girls said in unison.

After the older woman left the girl's room, said girls began chatting away.

"Do you think they'll go with your idea Inari?"

"I hope so; it seems like the logical decision considering the circumstances."

The six-year-old let out a small giggle, "It's hard to believe you're four Inari. What with the way you speak and all the big words you know. Sometimes I think you're just trying to confuse all of us."

"Oh sorry, it's a force of habit," Inari said, "My mom and dad did their best to teach me as much as possible since I was one. Now that they're gone, I want as much as I, be they memories or lessons.."

"I understand, Ally says she keeps her hair in braids because her mom used to tie her hair that way." Addie said with a smile, "Some of the big kids are like that too."

The two girls went silent, as thoughts of their loved ones past thought their heads. Not one for silence, Addie turned the conversation back to a much more cheerful topic. Back and forth the girls chatted happily until one of the caretakers barged in and ordered them to sleep.

"Gee, with all our talk of the field trip, I'm not so sure I'll be able to go to sleep easily," Addie said, climbing into her bed and settling in for the night.

"Yeah," Inari said heading to her bed, halting to picking up her small pup who had been tugging at her pajama bottoms. "Whoops, sorry Miyuki. Almost forgot you didn't I?"

With the pup in her arms, she curled up in her covers and drifted to sleep. _'I hope tomorrow is lots of fun.'_

* * *

_Hello there!_

_While I still want to write this story I am not motivated enough to write right now. Nevertheless, I **am** trying to come up with ideas for the following chapters. I want to end part one as soon as possible so I can get down to writing part two, which I know I'll be more motivated to write._

_Please comment if you can._

_Not that I deserve them right now…_

_Two months have passed now in this story. And it only took 22 chapters and two years *depressed*_


	23. Summoning Jutsu: An unlikely incident

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina (that will be in book three) Hope you guys are patient since this will take a **long** time to finish writing.

Ps: This story takes place some time after the Chunnin exams. Everything up to the exams follows the manga.

* * *

_*Gulp* I'm a bit too nervous to submit this._

_My motivation has greatly diminished since chapter one. I'm in a bit of a slump and basically have no idea how to continue this story. Hopefully this chapter will help bring the spark back. To my writing skills as well as my heart._

_Sorry if it's bad. It's almost been a year since I last wrote a chapter for this story. _

_Last chapter was 75% finished around Feb so I merely had to motivate myself enough to write the last remaining parts._

_I feel like I'm writing again for the first time._

_I did get a little help after reading the manga though. I always feel motivated after reading chapters with Naruto and Hinata in them w _

* * *

**Chapter 23**

_Summoning Jutsu: An unlikely incident_

_Let us look back about two weeks and recall an event, a story, left to be told for another day._

_On this day, everyone gathers to help a child who is barely four and has just left the hospital after a terrifying incident. Though the child remembers naught what took place during those days the effects of that day have taken their toll on her._

_In an attempt to brighten things up a certain blond teen decides to perform a much awaited jutsu. _

_Will it have the results he is expecting and will it awe and amaze the ones who will be observing?_

_Shall I stop my chitchat and just get on with the story already? _

_Yes well, I was hoping that was your answer._

* * *

Most of the caretakers were already awake and starting their morning task even before the sun made its way into the old orphanage. Breakfast was made for the adults before they started making the food for the children. With new workers coming and going, everyone's assigned tasks changed from month to month.

For some it took longer to get accustomed to it than others.

However, while not even a month had passed since their latest and youngest addition, the staff members had already grown accustomed to the new morning rituals.

One, the children awoke about an hour earlier than they used to.

Two, the noise level had risen about an octave higher than before.

And three, scraps of food seemed to 'accidentally' fall off of the children's plates more often than in the past.

However, the morning routine seemed to halt for a few days. Perhaps due, to the absence of a young and energetic four-year old.

Without her leading the way, the group of youngsters merely wandered the halls in low spirits. Ms. Bell had hoped that would all change when the brown haired child was released from the hospital. After the party, everything had seemed to be back to normal.

However, the morning after was anything but normal for the twenty nine year old caretaker.

The clock had just struck six 'o' clock and the expected pitter patter of children was nowhere to be heard.

Ms. Bell and the other staff members exchanged looks and went on with their morning tasks. They were sure it would not be long now. Seven o'clock came and then eight o'clock, but still the halls remained empty.

At nine in the morning, some noise finally started to make its way through the halls of the orphanage.

"Oh my gosh, no way!"

"It's true, he totally said that!"

"That jerk!"

"Now girls," Ms. Bell chimed in, "I do hope you're not planning another scheme against the boys."

"O-of course not."

"Oh Miss Bell, you know we're better than that."

"I sure hope so girls, nevertheless I will be keeping my eyes on you five."

The group of teenagers rushed off in giggles and whispers while the longhaired woman let out a sigh.

"It's too early to be sighing Ms. Bell," Kent said with a smirk, "Save some sighs for when the kids are up."

The dark haired woman looked around, "Goodness, are the little ones still not awake yet? That's quite unusual."

"Well Ally and the twins are up too, it's just the three youngest who are still asleep." Kent responded, "We tried to open the door to their room but I think it's locked."

"Nonsense," the headmaster announced, joining the two in their conversation, "There are no locks in any of the children's rooms. Ms. Bell, please go see what is going on, I will take care of your duties here."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

"Alright, I'm all set to go." the blond said, adjusting his headband. A knock at the door was heard as he made his way out of his bedroom. "Looks like they're here."

On the other side of the door were three teenage girls. Two of them were smiling suspiciously, which made the blond boy nervous. The last girl on the right was her usual timid self, which made the teen relax a bit. Whatever the other two girls were planning, at least they had not dragged Hinata into it.

After greeting the girls, Naruto closed the door behind him and led them on their way.

"So what are we doing today?" Ino asked her friends.

"You didn't tell her Sakura?" Naruto questioned, getting suspicious again.

The pink haired girl shot her longhaired friend a look before replying, "Eh, guess I forgot to mention it during our chat."

"Y-yeah and I forgot to ask. I just followed Sakura here without thinking about it."

Both of the girls smiled innocently. The blond teen didn't buy it but decided to shrug it off. If they were planning anything, there was no way he could catch them in the act. He had learned long ago that those girls could be really sneaky when they wanted to. It didn't matter though; he could always pay them back with a trick of his own. After all, it's what he is most famously known for.

"Um, we're going to the orphanage to check on Inari," Hinata said after she noticed no one had answered Ino's question. "We promised to come early so Naruto could show them his summoning jutsu."

"Naruto can summon something?" Ino said wide eyed, "What can he summon?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Naruto said with a grin.

Hinata smiled as she watched her crush's face light up with excitement. She wondered was looking forward to it more, him or the kids.

* * *

Up the stairs and down the hall the kind woman made her way to Inari and Addie's room. The orphanage was an old yet huge building with two floors and several rooms for the orphans. Each room fit two beds, had one closet and one table with a lamp on top. The rooms were designed to be compact to ensure enough space for new and unexpected arrivals.

Ms, Bell came up the children's room and knocked on the door. Within minutes, the door was opened slightly.

"Yes?" Addie said, peeking out the crack of the door, "Is something wrong?"

"I was worried about you kids," Ms. Bell said softly, "Daniel is with you girls, right?"

A light brown boy poked his head from behind the six year old, "Inawi is sweeping right now."

"He means sleeping," Addie corrected the boy behind her.

"I see, well can we come in? I think it's time she woke up," the caretaker reasoned.

The two children nodded and held the door open as the woman walked in.

On the bed that lay right by the wall, slept the brown haired child. Her black haired pup curled up by her side.

"I think it's time for her to wake up," Ms. Bell said, placing her hand on the four year olds' shoulder.

* * *

"Come on Naruto, I thought we were supposed to get there early?"

"But I haven't had anything to eat yet." the blond pouted, eyeing his favorite food.

The four teens had been walking to the orphanage when the only boy in the group decided to make a detour. Originally, the girls didn't mind, for they thought it would be a quick trip. Get in, eat, and get out. Simple and fast.

However, as luck would have it, today was a special day for Ichiraku. It was a one-day early bird special; half priced ramen, while supplies last. Needless to say, the place was crowded with customers.

Ino's patience had started to run out after half an hour of waiting. Sakura did her best to keep her calm while the eager teen waited for his turn.

Lucky for him it only took about fifteen more minutes for him to order his ramen. After eating the groups was on their way again.

"It's a good thing you ordered so much Naruto.," Sakura said with a smile, turning to her long haired friend, "Right Ino?"

"Ok so maybe I was a bit hungry," Ino said, her cheeks a bit pink.

All four teens laughed lightly as they made their way to the back of the orphanage.

"Oh my, there seems to be more children coming to visit every week, " a dark haired woman said softly.

"Hello ma'am, we're here to see Inari and her friends," Sakura said with a bow, "I would also like to see if Inari's doing well."

"Certainly," the older woman said, "Right this way please."

* * *

"You seem to be doing well, how do you feel?" Sakura said, examining the child as Ino observed. The blonde hoped she would soon be allowed to do her own check ups.

"I felt really sleepy this morning and I wasn't very hungry. The ladies made me eat though, but I did feel better afterwards."

"Well don't worry, you should be feeling a hundred percent in a few days."

"Hope so," Inari said, turning to Naruto, "So…"

"Ready to see a summoning jutsu?" the boy said with a grin.

"Yeah!" the four year old said with sparkling eyes, "Daniel, go get everyone."

The scruffy haired boy nodded and retrieved everyone from the youngest group. The older kids felt they were too old to be excited about jutsus so most went indoors to talk. However, Ally could have sword she saw the curtains to their rooms move slightly.

Inari and the children sat a good distance away from the blond in order to get a good view of the summoning. With the kids sitting in front, both Ino and Sakura decided to stand to the right of the blond so as not to block the children's view.

Hinata, sat beside Inari, per the child's request.

"Alright, you kids ready?" Naruto asked, receiving an excited cheer from the kids.

Sakura and Ino nodded in unison, that was their cue to begin.

"Say Sakura, you never finished the story this morning."

"I didn't, did I? Okay, well as I was saying," the pink haired girl began.

Both girls pretended to whisper, but the blond could hear them clearly. "Guys quiet, I need to concentrate."

"Whoops, sorry Naruto," Sakura said innocently, pretending to lower her voice but instead raising it a bit. "As I was saying, you wouldn't believe what Naruto said during our last mission."

This was enough to get the boy's attention, "What did I-?" Suddenly something clicked within the boy. The reason he had ran all the way back to Konoha before Sakura could. Why he was so relieved to see Hinata had returned around the same time he had. Everything started coming back to him, with a turn of his head he looked straight at is green-eyed teammate. "…Sakura."

His pink haired friend looked at him with a smirk on her face before turning to the shy heiress sitting before them. The blond looked at her wide eyed before following suit and turning his attention to the Hyuuga teen.

The kids had wondered what was taking so long when suddenly the blond had turned to look their way. All the children's heads turned to where he was staring and within seconds, all eyes were on the blue haired heiress.

Hinata grew nervous with all the attention squarely on her. She hesitated a few seconds before saying, "A-ah, is s-something wrong?"

"Well-" Sakura started to say when Naruto put his hand over her mouth, "mpgh."

"Nothing's wrong," Naruto said nervously, "Okay, here I go!" He bit his right thumb and quickly went through the steps before any more interruptions. "Summoning jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke appeared causing everyone to close their eyes and cover their mouths. After the smoke cleared, the kids looked in front of them in excitement, wondering just what animal would appear.

"Do you think it'll be something scary?"

"Or maybe something hug?"

"I want it to be something cute?"

"How about something we can ride?"

However, what they saw was a bit disappointing. Under the cloud of smoke appeared a tiny tadpole, flailing about the ground. Silence engulfed the group, as no one knew what to say.

The four year old decided to break the awkward silence and turned to the teen beside her. "Was that suppose to have happened?" she asked.

"Um, I'm not sure," Hinata answered, "T-this is the first time I've seen it."

"Something tells me that's not quite right, " Sakura said, looking at Ino who agreed.

"So then, what happened?" Inari questioned.

All eyes now turned to the blond boy who was also puzzled by it all. "Erm, I guess I goofed," he replied nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry."

The children whispered amongst one another, wondering what they should do. Ally and Kent tried to keep the twins from walking away and Ms. Bell tried to encourage the children to wait a bit longer.

"Twy it again!" Daniel cheered, causing some of the other children to chime in as well.

"Yeah come on!"

"You said you could do it right?"

"You're not giving up already are you?"

The small group all stood up, some speaking over others.

"Alright alright," Naruto grinned, "This time I'll do it right."

Ms. Bell tried to calm the kids and have them sit back down so they could see the jutsu again. The small group all sat down excitedly, crossing their fingers so it would work this time. Daniel was especially excited since he loved animals so much.

Sakura smiled, it was time for phase two to start. Ino noticed Sakura's cue and motioned for Hinata, who stood up and walked over to them. When the heiress reached them, Ino grabbed her by the arm and placed her to the right of the blond boy. Sakura then positioned herself to the left of the boy.

"Hey Naruto, Ino says she's got a sure fire way to succeed this time. Don't you Ino?" Sakura said with a smile.

"Yup, do you want to give it a try?" Ino asked innocently.

"Uh, ok," Naruto replied questionably.

"Now Hinata, would you be so kind as to help us out?"

"Um, okay."

"Great," Ino said, looking up at Sakura. "Now, all Naruto needs is some good luck, which you will give him."

"Um, how do I do that?" Hinata asked, unknowingly falling for their trap.

"Why with a good luck kiss!" both medical kunoichi cheered at the same time with bright smiles.

The poor heiress light up brightly before she even knew it, her heart beating rapidly inside her chest. She remained frozen in place as she felt the warmth spreading through her cheeks. "E-eh?"

Naruto froze in mid jutsu, he turned his head, unsure he had heard right.

Just then, both teens locked eyes, before either could say a word they both turned away.

They could tell Hinata was very embarrassed and was trying hard not to faint. But the face of the blond could not be seen from the girls' point of view. The audience however, could definitely see something but said nothing to the girls.

To distract everyone from what had just occurred, once again the blond yelled out, "Summoning Jutsu!" This time however, the cloud of smoke was bigger than the previous once. Before the smoke even cleared, a loud croaking noise seemed to echo all around them.

"What the-?" was all Sakura could say at the scene before her. The rest chimed in their own opinions.

"Wow!"

"So cool!"

"Eeek!"

"Ack, one just landed on my hair!"

"Awesome!"

"No way!" Inari said in awe.

"Oh my goodness."

"Incredible," the twins said in unison.

All around them leaped frog upon frog. They were hopping around so much it was hard to count them all. Inari, along with her friends, went around chasing the frogs, trying to see who could catch the most. Miyuki merely chased them around, trying to jump higher than them.

Naruto stood puzzled, wondering what could have made the jutsu mess up for a second time. Just then the heiress approached him nervously, "U-um, looks like it worked this time. Congratulations Naruto."

The blond scratched his head, "Well, I was actually trying to summon just one frog, but I guess this was much better."

"Yes, Inari seems to be in high spirits again. This was a great idea Naruto." Hinata said with a smile.

The blond laughed nervously, "Eh, it was nothing."

"And to think," Sakura said, appearing behind the two teens with Ino in toe, "he was able to do this without a good luck kiss."

"I wonder what he could summon _with_ one?" Ino wondered aloud.

As the girls stepped forward Naruto grabbed the heiress by the hand and led her away. He was not about to fall for some other trap, "Eh, let's go help Inari catch some frogs Hinata."

"O-okay," replied the blushing teen.

From far away the two girls could hear someone say:

"Hey Naruto, did you come to help out? Hey, why are you holding her hand?"

"Oh I knew they were together!"

"Is that why their faces are all red?"

"Well they might not be together but I do think-"

"Inawi, the girl fell!"

"Oops, looks like she fainted."

"Was it something we said?"

"Quick let's get her inside."

"Naruto, don't just stand there looking at her, pick her up you dope!"

One by one the summoned frogs poofed away, now forgotten by the children who had their attention elsewhere. With kids in toe, the blond teen made his was inside the orphanage, his blue haired friend in his arms.

Inari walked beside them with a big smile. She was glad she had been feeling better today, she would have hated to miss all this.

* * *

"Pfft! Well that was fun." Sakura laughed after she was sure no one but her blonde partner in crime was around.

"Told you it would be." Ino said triumphantly, taking all the credit for the duo's plan.

"Do you think we succeeded in anything?" the pink haired girl asked, after they stopped congratulating themselves.

"Not sure, I think it's too soon to tell." Ino admitted.

"Do you have anything else planned?"

"Not yet, but give me some time and I'll think of something even better." Ino grinned.

"Alright, let's go check on Hinata then."

"Sounds good to me."

With that the two teens made their way through the halls of the old building. All the way to the couch where a blushing girl sat, unable to make eye contact with her crush. All at once the children started bombarding the recently unconscious Hyuuga as well as the blond boy with various questions. Neither could respond and were quickly saved by Ms. Bell who motioned the kids into dining room for lunch time.

Sakura and Ino walked in just as the caretaker was offering the teens to join them for lunch.

The rest of the day was pretty much calm after all that had happened.

* * *

_So how was it?_

_With my new motivation, I've been able to fill in more blanks in the story. _

_I hope that this chapter was enjoyable. _

_I'm sorry if the chapters are too short. I try my best but can never seem to get much past 3,000 words. *sigh*_

_The next chapter will be about the children's field trip. _

_Bring a smile to the writer; leave a comment if you can._

_My internet is almost non-existing right now so I can't respond but I do enjoy reading each and every one of them!_

_Ps: While you wait for the next chapter please go take a look at my page for links to my videos and comics. _


	24. Field Trip Fun

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Miyuki and Inari. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **First attempt at writing a story. I'm sorta making it up as I go along. Sorry if there's not so much NaruHina (that will be in book three) Hope you guys are patient since this will take a **long** time to finish writing.

Ps: Everything up to the Chuunin exams follows the manga.

* * *

_Greeting everyone! _

_New year has come and gone while many things have happened, meanwhile my little story is left in a corner abandoned by me. _

_I'm so bad *sigh*_

_One of the things that kept me busy for a long time was some NaruHina fanfics. _

_They were sooo good I couldn't stop reading them._

_But then I'd get upset cause some haven't been updated for over a year. *ahem*_

_Well I might wander off for months at a time but hopefully I never leave the story hanging for a year or more._

_I'll do my best this year regardless of the year long art project I have taken upon myself to do._

_Please continue to read and enjoy my story. (but only if you want)_

* * *

__**Chapter 24**

_Field Trip Fun_

"Alright children, quiet down. Once you have finished your meal and have your supplies, please gather around your assigned caretaker." the headmaster's voice rang with authority throughout the kitchen and hallway.

It took the younger one longer to finish their breakfast as one by one the older children huddled around their caretaker Kayla. With a wave of her hand, the long haired woman led the large group of children out of the orphanage.

"Shouldn't Mrs. Kayla have some help with all those kids? How's she keep watch of them all, there's like over ten of them!" a young girl with blond braids asked the headmaster beside her.

The dark haired woman let out a huff of air, "I trust she can handle the task, after all, those kids are all old enough to know how to behave." she turned to the right where three children chased after one another, squealing and hollering at a high volume. "Unlike some children who are still too young and high maintenance. Thankfully there are only seven of you to worry about." she sighed and walked off, leaving the nine year old speechless.

"Hey Ally, are you ready to go?" Kent said with a smile.

"Yeah I guess." she said softly, her eyes deprived of their usual cheer.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" he said taken aback.

The blond girl turned to look at her long time friend of the same age, "Kent, what do you think will happen once we turn ten?"

_Where had that come from all of a sudden? _The dark haired boy though to himself. "Um, what do you mean?"

"You know what. We talk about it all the time. I'm worried that once we turn ten we'll change, just like all the other kids."

"You mean like **he** did." Kent stated rather than asked.

Ally winced in response; she knew she had struck an old nerve. "No I… didn't mean …" she played with her fingers nervously.

Kent approached his friend and placed his hand on top of her head, "Listen, I can't promise we won't change and eventually move into the older group. Everyone has a day when they want to grow up and hang out with kids their own age. But that doesn't mean we're going to abandon any of the friends we have now. It'll all work out Ally; I'll make sure of that."

The blonde gazed up in a moment of awe at her usually childlike friend. His smile so reassuring and warm. "Thanks Kent."

* * *

"Oh man, I am sooo late," a blond teen groaned aloud as he makes his way through the bustling crowd of villagers out running errands.

From the corner of the street, he spots his pink haired teammate.

"Naruto! Hurry it up or we won't make it in time!" she waved to her teammate as she sprinted ahead.

"Ack" he yelped as he is suddenly sent rolling towards a wall. Before he could even think of finding who had tripped him his ever-loud friend let out a final warning call.

"NA-RU-TO!"

The blonds' eyes widened as he got up from the ground and ran full speed to catch up to his teammate. "I know, I know, I'm coming!"

Both teen arrive at a small yet wide field of various vegetables. Obviously, they had been taken good care of and most looked ready to be picked.

"Ah, so you did make it, I was beginning to worry." a small woman called from behind them. She looked to be past her sixties and had a very kind smile on her face.

"Yes, I've very sorry we're late," Sakura said, bowing to the elderly woman. "We'll get started right away."

"Um, it's my fault ma'am," Naruto said, taking responsibility for his tardiness.

"Oh that's alright dear," the kind woman said, waving her hand dismissively. "if you would just come this way I'll explain what you two have to do."

With light steps, she led them into a small shack and gathered the necessary tools that they would need.

* * *

"Fun! Fun! This is very very fun!"

"Oh so very very fun!"

"Yes so very very fun!"

"And that is why we sing this song!"

"A song that we call 'lot's of fun'!"

"So everybody sing along!"

"To our very cheerful song!"

"Alright children, settle down," Ms. Bell giggled, "We've arrived at our first destination."

The seven children ended their spontaneous song and looks ahead in wonder.

Before they could even read the sign, a sweet aroma wafted into their noses.

"What is this wonderful smelling place?" spoke the twins in unison.

"Well children, this is a bakery." Ms. Bell explained, "Most of the fresh bread we serve in the orphanage is made here. Believe it or not, the headmaster's son works in this bakery."

"The headmaster has a son?" Kent said in amazement.

"Does that mean she's married?" Ally chimed in.

"Oh my," Ms. Bell tried to keep herself from laughing. "Well yes, the headmaster is married and has two other children as well."

"Well I'll be."

"Who would have though-?"

"I know."

Before the children could gape any longer a young woman walked out of the bakery and asked, "Are you the group of children from the orphanage?"

"Yes we are. Children please say hello to the owner of the bakery, Ms. Warren"

"Hello Ms. Warren." the children spoke all together.

"Hello there children, I hope you're ready to try some of the new sweets we've cooked up."

The children's eyes widen as big as possible as they licked their lips in anticipation.

"I'll take that as a yes," the young woman giggled, leading the small group of kids inside the bakery.

* * *

"Alright you two, it's time for a lunch break," the elderly woman called to the two genin from the front door of her home. She was holding a tray of food and a pitcher with two cups on the side.

"Thank you so much ma'am," Sakura said with a smile, helping the woman carry the tray to the table at the side of the house.

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Naruto said, gazing hungrily at the food on the tray.

"It's the least I can do after all the hard work you two have done on my farm." the elderly woman smiled warmly. "It almost feels like my children are still here with me."

Both Sakura and Naruto paused, their hands inches from their mouths. "Do you mean-" Sakura began cautiously.

The older woman looks at them both and laughed, "Oh dear, I'm sorry, that came out wrong. Both of my sons are still alive and well. I was just thinking back to the time they were young and eager to help me till the soil and harvest the crops. They usually come help me this time of year but one of they just got married, and the other is off on some mission. I would have done all this myself but, as it said in the report, I pulled my back a few days ago."

"It's okay ma'am, we're happy to help,"

"Yeah, just leave everything to us. With a few of my clones we'll be done in no time at all."

"Thank you both."

After their lunch break the two genin went back to work. While Sakura moved the small fruit trees to a wider space, Naruto finished putting up the new fence all around the property. And just as the blond boy said, they were done with time to spare.

"Well thank you both for all your hard work." the petite woman said as she hugged them both. "Now my trees can grow big and strong."

"We're happy to help ma'am," Sakura said happily, "Are you sure there's nothing else you'd like help with?"

"Oh no, I'm sure I can handle everything else myself." the woman said, waving her hand dismissively. She walked over to some crates of fresh fruits and vegetables and looked over a list before attempting to pick up a crate.

But before she could even lift her arms, the crates were grabbed all at once.

"Not so fast granny," Naruto said with a triumphant smile. "I think this is something I should do."

Before the woman could interject, the blond was out of the house with clones following behind.

"Well then, while he's out running deliveries, how about we finish up this list?" the pink-haired kunoichi said with a smirk, holding up a to-do list with her right hand.

The older woman merely sighed, she knew when she was beat.

"Good, then let's start with the potted plants."

* * *

"Now here are the freshly baked breads we make. We have to make large quantities because a lot of the customers buy bread." the bakery owner walked over to the counter by the cash register. "The cakes you see here are made by our top baker, Dave, his cakes are very popular."

"Oh wow, they look really yummy!" whispered Ally in awe.

"I've got to try one," Kent said, reaching into his pocket to pull out the few bills of money he had. Those bills were his life savings.

Being orphans, they had no means of getting money unless they ran tasks and did jobs for the caretakers of the orphanage. That is, if the headmaster approved of course. Sadly, most of the jobs were given to the older kids, who were considered more responsible.

Ms. Bell noticed Kent reaching for his money and quickly spoke, "Before I forget, I want each of you to look around and choose something you'd like to eat. The headmaster has already paid the bakery for the treats so don't worry. After we eat our lunch you can eat your snack."

The seven children cheered loudly as they dashed all around the store for the best dessert.

Inari followed Daniel and Addie as Addie made her way to a pink cupcake with colorful sprinkles on it.

"This one's perfect, it's pink just like my favorite color." Addie squealed in glee.

"Well, Addie gots a cucake, wut are you getting Inawi?" Daniel asked nervously.

"I'm not sure; do you know what you're getting yet?" Inari replied.

"No, I can't deside," the boy looked down; decisions were always hard for him.

Ally had told Inari that, a mean woman once yelled at Daniel because he couldn't decide what he wanted to eat. The lady had gotten furious and picked up Daniel and shook him violently. Needless to say, the headmaster fired the woman, but Daniel has since been a scared and timid boy. He was about three when it happed, so many of the caretakers believed that incident was what caused the boy's speech problems.

Inari looked around at the various pastries, looking for the right one for Daniel.

"Having a hard time deciding?" a deep voice said from in front of them.

The two kids looked up to see a rather tall man with short dark hair and a white apron on.

"Can you help us mistur?" Daniel asked.

"Of course, that's what I'm here for." the man replied. "My name is Dave and I make the cakes you see right here," he pointed down to the sweets right by the counter.

"So you're the one whose cakes are really popular?" Inari asked, "And you're also the headmaster's son, right?"

"Well yes," the man laughed, "Though I know her as mom, not headmaster."

The two kids stared in awe at the man, who was being very nice to them. It didn't make sense to them how he could be related to their cranky headmaster.

"So what's your favorite flavor? If I know that I can help you find a dessert." Dave asked the two.

"Well mine's chocolate," Inari said with a smile.

"Mine's whyte." Daniel replied.

"He means white chocolate." Inari corrected, causing Daniel to nod in agreement.

"Well then, I have just the cakes for you two." Dave said with a smile, heading to the back of the store and returning moments later with two slices of cake.

Inari and Daniel looked wide-eyed as the cakes came closer to them.

The cake on Dave's right hand was covered in chocolate frosting and had white swirls on top. While the cake on his left hand had white chocolate frosting with chocolate swirls on top.

"I think these two cakes fit you two perfectly," he said, giving the cakes to Inari and Daniel after placing them inside a box. Daniel happily took the white chocolate cake while Inari took the chocolate one.

From behind them, a small black pup wagged her tail happily, hoping to get apiece as well. She barked at her owner, lifting her head up to the delicious smelling box,

"Oh is this puppy yours?" Dave asked.

"Yes, her name's Miyuki." Inari replied, "I think she wants some of my cake."

"Oh no, that would be a bad idea kids," Dave explained, "Dogs must never be given chocolate by any means. It's just not good for them."

"Huh really?" Inari asked, completely shocked. Daniel held the same expression, recalling the time he almost gave Miyuki a piece of chocolate at he orphanage.

"Yes, chocolate is especially dangerous for a small pup like her."

The dark haired pup lowered her head and let out a small whine. She was getting very hungry and couldn't understand why no one was feeding her.

"Poor Miyuki." Inari said, reaching down and petting her puppy, "I'm sorry but you can't have any."

"It's not good for you," Daniel explained.

Miyuki let out a howl, which caused Inari to turn to Dave with a sad face, "Can't Miyuki have a little piece to eat?"

The dark haired man paused in thought, "Well, I think I may have something for the pup." he walked to the back of the store and came back with a small bag. "I think your pup will like these. They're dog treats another baker makes for some of our customers who have dogs."

Dave opened the bag to reveal a large handful of small round biscuits, "They're suppose to be really good and nutritious."

"Wow, thanks so much," Inari grinned happily, handing Miyuki one of the biscuits. The dark haired pup happily ate the treat and barked for more.

'_I think I'll use these for when Kiba comes over to help me train Miyuki,' _Inari though to herself.

* * *

"Alright you two, you've done more than enough work for one day. I am very grateful to you both." the elderly woman smiled, "Now go home and treasure your youth while you still can." she chuckled. "Kids these day are so eager to fight in missions and risk their lives. Now I'm not criticizing what you both do. I just want to remind you to take time and do what kids do. Play around with your friends without a care in the world."

"Don't worry about us ma'am, this knucklehead here makes sure to cause enough mischief for everyone."

"Well that's good to hear." the woman smiled.

"Hey, I haven't been pulling pranks for a while now, so I'd say I'm due for a prank or two."

"Don't you dare Naruto," Sakura warned, "You know what Lady Tsunade did to you last time."

The blond cringed, "Don't remind me."

"Oh let the boy have his fun dear. Soon he'll be all grown up and have other things to worry about." the woman paused in thought, "Unless, you two already have that special someone?"

"Oh um well I-" Sakura paused, a frown replacing her small smile. Her pink cheeks quickly faded and left her face paler than usual. "I like… but he…I…"

"Did I say something wrong?" the woman asked with concerning eyes.

"Naw, don't worry about her," Naruto said with a grin, placing his hand on his teammate's shoulder. "She's strong, she can handle this. Right Sakura?"

The pink haired teen shook herself from her thoughts and smiled softly, "Yeah, as long as I have my friends with me I'll be fine." Both teen exchanged friendly smiles before looking back at the older woman.

"Well don't give up dear, if you give it your all you'll have no regrets in the end."

Sakura tightened her fist; a fierce determination filled her eyes.

"So what about you son? Do you have someone special?"

"Who me?" Naruto asked wide-eyed, "Well no, not anymore."

Before the woman could ask him to go into detail, the kunoichi chimed in.

"Oh but I think he'll have someone real soon." she said, elbowing her teammate on his side.

"What do you mean Sakura?" the blond asked with a puzzled face.

"He's got a fish biting on the hook doesn't he?" the woman grinned, her choice of words confusing the boy even more.

"Yup, and she's a real keeper too. It's a shame the fisherman doesn't realize she's tugging on the line." Sakura replied, now drawn into a somewhat private conversation between her and the older woman.

Naruto looked back and forth as the two females talked in their "secret language". After a few minutes, he couldn't take it anymore. He was starting to feel like they were making fun of him. The blond grumbled, "Some girls are impossible to understand."

"Well when it comes to you Naruto, I'm sure it's not just some girls that are beyond your comprehension. I'd say its **all **girls." Sakura retorted.

"That's not true," the blond huffed, "I mean, granny Tsunade maybe, and sometimes Ayame is confusing. Plus, you and Ino are definitely confusing, especially when the two of you together. But Hinata and Inari aren't like that."

"You sure Naruto? I mean, even though Inari's still a kid I'm sure she's confused you a coupe of times." Sakura grinned. "And as for Hinata, I'm sure there are things about her you don't understand."

"Now why does the name Hinata sound familiar?" the older woman thought aloud to herself.

"Hinata Hyuuga, she's the heir to the Hyuuga clan. We're both friends with her, but as of recently, she and Naruto have become quite close." Sakura explained.

"I see, would she by any chance, be the fish tugging on the line?"

The pink haired kunoichi glance quickly at the blond, his puzzled face caused her to stifle a giggle. Without a word, she simply smiled to the older woman, telling her all she needed to know.

By this point, the boy had reached his limit, "Will someone please just tell me what's going on?"

"It's just girl talk Naruto, nothing for you to be concerned about." Sakura said dismissively.

"You're talking about me, and you also mentioned Hinata." the blond said with a serious face.

"I'm only teasing, but I'll stop," Sakura said reassuringly.

"Good," Naruto said turning to the old woman, "Well our work here is done, granny. If you ever need any more help just ask."

"Thank you sonny," the woman said with a smile, "I'll be sure to take you up on your offer."

Sakura smiled, suddenly hit with a great idea. "And maybe next time, you can ask for Hinata's help too."

"Ah yes," the woman nodded, understanding the pink haired girl's motive, "I'll be sure to ask for her. Maybe next time I can teach the fisherman the right way to fish."

And with that, the two teens were off. Naruto had given up trying to understand them and had decided to grab a bite to eat instead. With a wave, he left the reporting up to his teammate.

'_A nice hot bowl of ramen is just what I need right now' _the blond thought to himself, arriving at his favorite ramen stand.

* * *

"Alright children, please throw your trash away and form a line by the door, it's about time we returned to the orphanage." Ms. Bell announced after everyone had finished eating his or her lunch.

"That was the best thing I've ever eaten," Kent said, rubbing his stomach happily.

"I know, I'm definitely asking the headmaster if I can get a cupcake from here for my birthday." Ally said joyfully.

"This was such a fun day, I wish we could see more of the village," Addie said, turning to Daniel and Inari who both nodded.

"Well maybe we can ask permission to come back again?" Inari wondered.

"Sorry squirts," Kent butted in, "But you three are still too young to go outside alone. And you know Ms. Bell and the others don't have time to take us out anytime we want. The only way the headmaster will let one of us outside the orphanage is if we're accompanied by an adult they know and trust."

Inari huffed in disappointment. Guess asking Naruto and Hinata to take her was out of the question. But the precocious child wasn't about to be stopped so easily.

After they all thanked Ms. Warren and Dave they said their goodbyes and made their way back to the orphanage. Kent and Ally, being the oldest, led the front of the group, while Ms. Bell walked behind the group.

"Listen up guys," Inari whispered just loud enough for Addie and Daniel to hear. "I have a plan that will let us go out whenever we want. Meet me at the top of the stairs after dinner."

The two children nodded their head and continued on walking as if nothing had happened.

'_Too bad I can't tell Ally and the others about this, but I think it'll be tough enough sneaking off with just Addie and Daniel.' _Inari thought to herself.

* * *

The blond teen had just finished his fifth bowl of ramen when he heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Oh, e-excuse me."

Sure enough, it belonged to the shy heiress known as Hinata Hyuuga. She had just entered Ichiraku's when a man had accidentally bumped into her.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto waved for the girl to come over, "funny running into you here. I haven't seen you for a few days."

The dark haired teen blushed at seeing her crush. Even thought it had only been a few days, she had missed hearing his voice. "G-good afternoon Naruto. I'm glad I got to see you today," she said with red cheeks and a smile.

"Really? Why? Did you need me for something?" the blond asked curiously.

"Ah! N-no I just, m-missed you… t-that's all." she replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh," Naruto paused, a bit taken back. He couldn't remember the last time someone had said they missed him, if ever. "Thanks, I missed you too," he said nervously. "Guess its cause lately we've been hanging out together every day."

The shy teen merely nodded, still feeling light headed after hearing that her crush had missed her.

"So what have you been up too?" Naruto asked after Hinata took a seat beside him and ordered a bowl or ramen.

"My father was been training me the past few days. He wishes to see how far my skills have come this year and has arranged for Neji and I to spar tomorrow." Hinata played with her fingers nervously. "After training all day I decided to get something to eat outside so I came to Ichiraku's."

Naruto noticed how tense Hinata appeared to be, "Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

Hinata twitched at this, confirming Naruto's suspicions.

"I-I don't want to disappoint my father again," Hinata confessed.

"Don't worry Hinata; you're stronger than you think. I should know; we've sparred a bit these past few weeks. You just need to believe in yourself." Naruto said reassuringly.

The shy Hyuuga smiled at his kind words, "Thank you Naruto."

"Hey I'm just paying you back for all the times you've cheered me up." Naruto said with a grin.

Both teens happily ate and chatted with each other until the sun set. Naruto tried his best to get Hinata to calm down and forget about the sparring match. After they paid for their food Naruto offered to walk Hinata home, which Hinata happily accepted.

When they reached the gate to the Hyuuga compound, they both turned to say their goodbyes.

"Remember Hinata, relax and just do your best. Don't worry about what anyone else says. I'll come over later tomorrow so we can go see Inari, okay?"

Hinata nodded and thanked the blond once more before heading inside her home.

'_Good luck Hinata, I know you can do it.' _Naruto thought to himself before heading home.

The shy teen had no problems sleeping that night, not after hearing everything Naruto had said to her. He believed in her, so she was determined to give it her all tomorrow. _'I have to believe in myself, just like Naruto said. Then I'm sure, that father will be proud of me.' _Those were Hinata's final thoughts before she drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Listen up you two, because I'm only going to say this once." Inari whispered to Daniel and Addie.

After dinner, the three of them had met at the stairs and headed to Inari and Addie's room. There Inari told them her plan to get them out of the orphanage without anyone noticing.

"Well just tell Ms. Bell that we'll be in here playing all day. We will even build a fort so it looks like we are in here. Then, when the coast is clear, we'll-" Inari whispered the rest in Addie's ear, who then whispered it to Daniel. The three nodded in agreement.

"But are you sure it will work Inari?"

"I'm not sure Addie, but we have to try until we succeed. If it doesn't' work tomorrow then we will try the next day, and the next day until it works. Do we all agree?"

"Yes," both Addie and Daniel said in unison.

* * *

_GAAHH! These chapters are getting harder to write and I think they are turning out kind of boring!_

_I will try to do better next time._

_Sorry, I'm better at drawing than I am at writing *sweat drop*_


	25. Spreading Smiles

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Inari, Miyuki, etc. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **This takes place before the time skip. Naruto is 14 though so that means I've made many changes to the original story line.

Any changes I made will be revealed in their time. If anyone is confused about something, please ask and I will clarify.

* * *

Darn, I always seem to forget about this story *looks away nervously*

I only remembered cause I heard about the new Naruto movie coming out.

It sounds like it's going to be great! *overly excited*

Ahem, so then…

On With the story!

* * *

**Chapter 25**

_Spreading Smiles_

It was still pretty early in the day, but the teen couldn't wait any longer. He had woken up early and decided to head to his favorite place for breakfast. After his seventh bowl, he left and walked around town in order to pass the time.

However, only half an hour passed before he found himself at the gates of the Hyuuga compound.

'_It's still too early,' _the blond boy thought to himself, _'I'll probably have to wait a few more hours.' _With a sigh the boy say down, his back to the wall of the compound. _'Good luck Hinata.'_

* * *

"Alright, is everyone ready?"

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

"Go!"

The three kids all held out their hands, looking from one hand to the other to see the results of their game.

"Yes! I won!" Addie exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Darn," Inari and Daniel said in unison holding up their clenched hands.

"So this means I get to decide where we go." the chestnut haired girl said with a smirk.

"Yup," Inari said looking at Daniel. They both knew where she wanted to go.

"Alright! To the flower shop it is!" Addie said, lifting her finger to the sky.

"Ok, do we have everything ready?" Inari asked, looking around the room.

"The 'Do not enter" sign is posted outside the door." Addie called out.

"All furnichure is blockin door." Daniel said, testing the door.

"Perfect, now everyone come stand next to me." Inari began explaining.

"Miyuki is outside waiting for us, she'll make sure no one sees us escaping. Now Daniel, take my right hand and Addie take my left hand. Leave everything to me."

Inari took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _'Alright' _Inari thought to herself, _'I can do this. It's just like teleporting myself, only I have to teleport two more with me. That no problem, right?' _

Both Daniel and Addie could feel Inari's hands shake as she tried to teleport them out of the orphanage.

A few minutes passed with complete silence as the three children stood together inside the room.

"It's okay Inari," Addie finally spoke, "We don't have to all go. I'll stay behind, okay?"

"No, I'll stay." Daniel said, releasing his grip on Inari.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, "Hello? Is anyone inside?"

"Oh no!" Addie whispered.

"Go now." Daniel said, heading for the door.

Inari's eyes opened as soon as she heard the doorknob start to turn. Within seconds, she reached over, grabbed Daniel's hand, and closed her eyes once more. Her heart was beating rapidly inside her as the voice from the other side of the door shouted out, "I'm coming in ok?"

In a flash, the three children disappeared from inside the room.

"Let's go Ally, we don't have all day!" a voice shouted from below the stairs.

The blonde girl shut the door closed and turned to respond, "I know, jeez you're impatient." Quickly she made her way down the stairs where her dark-haired friend waited.

"What were you doing up there anyway?" the boy questioned.

"Well Kent, if you must know, I was going to tell Inari and the others that we were going to be gone for a few hours."

"Oh, so what did they say?"

"They didn't answer. Probably too caught up playing one of their games to hear anything."

With that, the two kids made their way out the door where Kayla, one of the caretakers, was waiting.

* * *

A small black-haired pup paced nervously around as she waited for her master to arrive.

Suddenly a glowing green light flashed in front of the pup.

Within moments, three small figures could be made out of the green light. Miyuki wagged her tail in happiness and ran to her master. However, the four-year old suddenly collapsed on the ground.

"Inawi!"

"Are you aright Inari?"

The two kids grabbed their small friend by the arms and lifted her up to a sitting position. Slowly her eyes opened as she tried to regain her bearings.

"S-sorry guys," she let out weakly, "I guess I still need to train more before I can try that again."

"Still, it's amazing that you were able to do it at all," Addie said, helping Inari stand up.

"Yeah but, I was only able to do it cause I got scared. If someone hadn't tried to open the door I don't think we'd be outside right now." Inari grabbed her head, still a bit weak from the teleportation.

Daniel took off his backpack, grabbed a snack from inside it, and handed it to Inari, "Here, you'll feel bettur."

The brown-haired girl smiled and happily accepted the food. Afterwards the girl felt strong enough to walk and said, "We better hurry so we don't get caught."

* * *

Whispers could be heard from some of the villagers who passed by the Hyuuga compound.

"What's he doing?"

"Do you think he's planning something?"

"Should we tell someone?"

"Don't worry, the Hyuuga are sure to put him in his place."

"Do you think they'll hurt him?"

"I hope so, that'll teach him that he doesn't belong here."

The boy quickly drowned out the voices. He was used to comments like this, and he didn't care anymore. Not everyone hated him and wanted him to leave the village. The glares and harsh words were becoming less frequent. They still hurt him, but not as much as before. "It's okay," he whispered to himself, "I have friends now. I'm not alone anymore."

Despite his own reassurance, the Uzumaki teen couldn't help but feel something at the pit of his stomach. It was a small negative feeling. A doubt that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't meant to be accepted by anyone.

The door to the Hyuuga compound slowly opened, as a few branch members made their way out. They seemed to be discussing something the blond boy could barely make out. He was able to catch the words, 'match', 'finished,' and 'Neji."

That was it; that was what he was waiting for. The match between Neji and Hinata was over.

'_How did it go?' _He wondered, _'Who won? Was Hinata okay?'_

"May a help you young man?"

Naruto looked up to see a man with short dark-hair, his eyes were Hyuuga eyes but he expression seemed cheerful. This surprised the blond. "Wow, I didn't know there was someone from the Hyuuga clan, besides Hinata, who was nice."

"I see," the man chuckled, "Well appearances can be deceiving. People are not always what they appear to be."

"Guess that's true," the blond nodded. People always thought the worst of him, but often times he had the opportunity to show them just how wrong they were.

"So, I take it you're here to see Hinata?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "H-how did you know that?"

The man chuckled once more, "Well you did say Hinata was the only one you thought was nice. So I imagine she'd be the only one you'd come visit."

"Oh," was all Naruto could say. Besides Hinata, the only other Hyuuga Naruto knew was Neji. And the blond didn't really have much to do with the stoic teen.

"Lady Hinata has just finished her match with Neji and is now with her father. If you'd like you may enter and wait for her," the Hyuuga member said with a smile.

"Sure thanks." Naruto said, walking behind the older man as he was led into the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

"Ok, I think we turn left here." Inari said, trying to think back to the time she last came.

"Are you sure," Addie said in disbelief, "Maybe we should ask someone?"

"No way, I know where to go." Inari insisted.

"Why don't you lead the way Miyuki?" Daniel said, patting the pup on her head.

Miyuki barked happily, looking to her owner for approval.

"Alright, you can lead." Inari sighed, smirking once the pup went on her way.

The three youngsters were only minutes away from the flower shop as they chased after the speedy puppy.

Addie was the first to enter the shop, her eyes filled with awe.

"Hello," a voice called from behind the store. "Is there a certain flower you're looking for?"

"It's me Ino; I brought some of my friends over to see your pretty flowers." Inari said, poking her head behind the counter in search of the blonde teen.

"Oh that's fine, business has been slow this morning so I've got time to kill." the long-haired girl said with a sigh, "Would you like me to show you around the shop?"

"Yes please!" Addie said, her voice almost a squeal.

Inari stifled a giggle, "This is my friend Addie; she loves flowers. And over here," she turned to her right, "Is my friend Daniel. He's shy around people."

"Well it's nice to meet you both," Ino said with a smile. "How about we start our tour over here. We just received some very beautiful flowers."

Inari, Addie, and Miyuki nodded as they followed the blonde kunoichi. Daniel, however, quickly took interest in a particular flower. With his small hands, he picked up yellow flower and went over to the girls.

"Here," he said, lifting the flower up to Inari's face. "I buy you."

"F-for me?" Inari said with wide eyes. Her hands trembled as they grabbed hold of the sunflower. "T-t-tha-" she chocked out, her eyes full or tears.

Everyone in the shop now looked at the four-year old with concerned eyes.

"What's wrong?" Addie asked in bewilderment.

"I-it's just…" Inari tried to calm herself down to no avail. The once muffled cries now turned into giant sobs.

Ino kneeled down and scooped up the child into her arms. She gently cradled her, whispering kind words or reassurance.

Miyuki whined, desperately wanting to comfort her owner.

It took a few minutes but eventually Inari was able to regain her composure.

Daniel's heart now felt crushed as he tried to open his mouth and apologize to the girl for making her cry. "Inawi… I…"

"It's okay Daniel; it's not your fault." Inari said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I just couldn't help remembering."

"Remembering what?" Addie asked.

"My parents."

Suddenly the shop was quiet.

"You see," Inari began, "back where I lived, there was a beautiful field of sunflowers surrounding the town. My mother absolutely loved sunflowers. So, whenever my father had any free time, he would take us there and we'd have a picnic. Before we would leave I always picked a flower and gave it to my mother." the child brought the sunflower up to her chest and smiled, "Seeing this flower again reminded me of all the fun time we had together. I guess I couldn't help but cry."

Inari looked up at her scruffy haired friend, "Thanks for the flower Daniel."

Ino place the girl on the ground, letting the three kids embrace each other. She grinned at the scene before her. "Well, now that we sorted all that out, would you all mind giving me a hand with something?"

The three curious kids quickly turned their full attention to her.

"You see, business has been real dull recently, and I just thought of the perfect way to get some customers." The blonde quickly ran to the back of the store and returned with a few baskets.

"Here, one for each of you," she said placing a basket on their hands. "I even have one for Miyuki," she said, holding a small basket out for the pup.

"What are we suppose to do with these baskets?" Addie asked, fully confused.

"Come over here and I'll explain it all," the blond teen said, waving the children over. "First off, we need to pick a bunch of flowers."

* * *

Waiting, it felt like that was all the boy had done the entire day. After leading Naruto through the compound, the Hyuuga member told him to wait inside one of the guest rooms.

However, after half an hour the waiting was beginning to be too much for the blond.

"Geez, I bet no one even told Hinata I'm here," the teen huffed, "This must be some trick to get me to leave. Well you bet I'm going to leave!"

The blond quickly rose from his seat and left the room where he was waiting.

'_I bet her dad grounded her so that she wouldn't see me or maybe-' _Naruto paused in thought, recalling something the heiress had told him the day before.

"_I-I don't want to disappoint my father again," Hinata confessed._

Could it be that Hinata wasn't able to fight against Neji as well as her father had wanted? From what Kiba had told him, Hinata's father did tend to yell at his daughter for everything. Maybe Hinata didn't perform well and her father had punished her.

Naruto's hands closed in anger. He was more than ready to tear Hinata's father a new one if he had yelled at Hinata. It wasn't fair that the whole clan looked down on her. He had seen her at the Chunnin exams. How hard she tried against Neji despite what everyone said. Hinata was strong; he had seen it first hand. So why could no one else see it?

The blond boy stomped through the hall until a familiar voice called over to him.

"A-ah! I-I'm sorry Naruto. H-have you been waiting long?"

His furious glare quickly washed away as his cerulean eyes turned to the shy heiress. "Hinata?"

The dark-haired teen quickly ran over to his side, "I'm sorry, my father wanted to talk to me after the match and-"

"Did everything turn out okay? What happened? Who won? Were you hurt?" the blond questioned his friend, not really giving her an opportunity to answer him.

"I-I'm fine Naruto." the heiress said with a blush.

"Alright, you have to tell me everything that happened over some ramen," Naruto said, grabbing Hinata by the hand as he led her out of the compound.

"O-ok," Hinata said with a smile.

They quickly arrived at the familiar ramen shop, where Ayame greeted them with a sweet voice. "Aww, well if it isn't my favorite couple."

"Jeez Ayame, don't you ever get tired of saying that? The blond huffed, standing in front of the counter.

"Oh I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying it Naruto." Ayame said with a grin. "So are you two ready to order?"

The two teens took a seat and relayed their orders to Ayame.

"Ok, I'll be back in a bit with your food."

* * *

"We've filled our baskets." the three children chimed in unison. Each one held their basket up for the teen blonde to see.

Miyuki gripped her basket tightly with her teeth and stood on her hind legs, attempting to show Ino as well.

"Good," Ino said with a smile, "Now you're ready to hit the streets."

Addie, Daniel and Inari exchanged confused looks.

"You see, we haven't been getting many customers these last few weeks. This means we have many unsold flowers lying around." Ino informed them, "So I thought it'd be nice to go around town and hand them out to the villagers. Better to give them away than to leave them here to die right?"

"Right," the three kids said with a smile.

"Well then, let's get to work!" Ino cheered.

With a cheer of their own, the kids ran out of the shop, baskets in hand.

One by one they approached every villager that passed by. Most were delighted to accept the beautiful flowers, while some politely rejected them.

It only took about an hour and a half for them to empty their baskets.

Afterwards they gathered back at the flower shop.

"Phew, we were lucky that group of academy students walked by." Addie said, opening the door to the shop,

"Yeah, I've never chased after so many people before." Inari said, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"But, that sure was a lot of fun."

"Yeah, did you see the look on that old lady's face when we gave her a daisy?" Inari said with a grin.

"She was even happier than that couple we gave the tulips to," Addie giggled.

"And don't forget that grumpy old man Daniel ran into." Inari pointed out.

"Yeah, he was really scary looking." Addie shivered, recalling the event.

"But he smiled really nicely when Daniel gave him the flower." the four year-old added.

"I guess flowers really can brighten up anyone's day."

"Yup, we did good."

"Miyuki did a great job too." Daniel said, patting the black-haired pup next to him.

"That's true," Inari opened her arms and embraced her puppy. "She finished faster than any of us."

"But of course, who could resist such a cute face." Ino said, coming up from behind them. "Although Daniel was pretty adorable too. I didn't know he was so shy. He was practically trembling every time he gave away a flower."

"Plus his face was as red as a tomato." Addie pointed out. "Just like it is now."

"Come one guys, don't make fun of him," Inari said, grabbing Daniel's hand. "You did a great job out there." she smiled. Miyuki barked in agreement.

Daniel smiled back, "Tanks Inawi."

"Yes, you all did a great job. Thanks for helping me out."

"Anytime," Addie said with a huge smile, "When it comes to flowers I'm up for the job!"

"Good to know," Ino giggled.

"Hey, what are you kids doing here?" a voice called out from the front door.

* * *

"Man that was delicious," Naruto said, patting his now full belly. "How was your ramen Hinata?"

"Great," Hinata said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it," Ayame said putting their bowl away. "So, what brings you two here today? I mean, Naruto's always here, but I don't see you here often Hinata."

"Well I invited her hear to hear about her match." Naruto explained. "By the way," he turned to Hinata, "how did it go?"

"Um," Hinata looked away nervously, "Neji won."

"Oh, and?" Naruto asked.

"And?" Hinata replied in a confused voice.

"Well, there must have been a reason your dad wanted to talk to you after the match. Come on, tell me everything." Naruto grinned, "I'm sure it wasn't easy for Neji to beat you. What happened during the match?"

"W-well," Hinata blushed; she could feel the blond's beautiful blue eyes watching her. "Neji is quite skilled. Even with all the extra training I've done with my father, I was only able to land a few hits to him. But my father said that I performed well and that he would continue to train me."

Hinata paused in her explanation and smiled, "He also told me he was proud of me and that he was confident I'd do better next time. Therefore, I'm very happy with today's results. I guess this time **I** was the proud failure"

Naruto couldn't help but smile as he listened to the shy heiress. It was the first time he's heard her speak so much and with a smile no less. He knew she had a strained relationship with her father, so it made him happy to hear that things were improving.

"But you know Hinata," Naruto said, placing some coins on the counter, "I don't think you were a proud failure."

Hinata's smile threatened to fall at her crushes' words. Luckily, he still had something more to add.

"You told me yesterday, that the match was to see how much your skills had improved, right?"

Hinata nodded hesitantly.

"Well from what you told me, your skills **have** improved. So you didn't fail at all." Naruto grinned, "Congrats on your match, Hinata."

The heiress couldn't hide the blush that consumed her face after hearing the blond's words. It took all of her strength to keep from looking away. With a timid smile she replied, "Thank you Naruto."

'_I couldn't have done it without you,' _she thought to herself.

* * *

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" Ino asked in surprise.

"Lady Tsunade sent me to get you," the pink-haired kunoichi said as she entered the flower shop. "Three nurses didn't show up at the hospital today so she was wondering if you and I could lend a hand."

"Oh, well sure. Let me just tell my mom so she can come watch over the shop." Ino said, heading to the back of the store.

Sakura's attention quickly turned to the three children trying to sneak out of the flower shop. "And just where do you three think you're going?"

"Busted," Addie whispered to the other two.

They turned to the teen as she motioned for them to approach her.

"Why are you three out in the village? Shouldn't there be a grown up with you?" she eyed them questioningly.

"Uh, you see..." Inari raced to find an answer.

"We halp Ino." Daniel chimed.

"Y-yes," Addie added, "she asked us to help her pass out flowers around town. It was really fun too."

"I see," Sakura paused in thought, "But that doesn't explain why you three are out all by yourselves."

"Mrs. Kayla is with us. It's just that she found a lost kid and asked us to stay here until she came back." Inari said, crossing her fingers behind her back. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Alright Sakura, I'm ready." Ino said, dashing past her. "See you later kids. Make sure you get back before it gets dark. Come on forehead!"

Sakura didn't have time to see through the four-year olds lie as she tried to catch up to her friend. "Get back here pig!"

Addie giggled, "Those two are funny."

"Yup, I like hanging out with them." Inari said with a smile.

"We shud go bak now." Daniel said, eyeing the clock nervously.

"Yikes, it's been almost three hours!"

"Let's go!"

"I hope they haven't caught us."

Miyuki ran past them barking.

"Good thinking Miyuki, you go on ahead and see if the coast's clear."

* * *

As Sakura and Ino made their way to the hospital, they ran past a familiar face.

"Mrs. Kayla?" Sakura stopped in her tracks and approached the caretaker.

"Hey girls." she said with a smile.

"Going to go pick up the kids?" Sakura questioned. She still felt like something fishy was going on.

Kayla was taken back, "Uh, yes. How did you know?"

"Oh um, I just saw them." Sakura replied, _'Guess they were telling the truth.'_

"Come on Sakura!" Ino hollered back at her.

"Well it was nice talking to you." she bowed. "Bye."

"Bye." Kayla waved to the teen.

"Mrs. Kayla, there you are!"

"Sorry, we got lost in the crowd."

"That's okay. Did you get the items I asked for?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's head back then."

* * *

"Alright, quick before anyone finds us." Inari whispered to the other two as she held out her hands.

The four year olds heart raced as she closed her eyes. The day had been full of excitement, but all might be ruined if they were caught.

With a green flash of light, they were back in their room.

Addie looked around, "No one's here. Daniel, check outside the room."

The little boy did as he was told and came back in a matter of seconds, "It's ok."

"Nice job Ina-" Addie's eye widened, "Inari?"

Daniel quickly ran to the small girl who lay on the floor. The black-haired pup whined at her feet.

"This is bad, what should we do?" Addie asked nervously.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Hey kids, just wanted to let you know that it's lunchtime." a voice spoke before entering the room.

"Mrs. Kayla, please help! Inari's hurt." Addie exclaimed, pointing to the girl on the floor.

The young woman looked in shock, "W-what happened to her?"

Addie and Daniel didn't know how to respond to their caretakers' question. They looked back and forth at one another, before they said a word.

"S-she was practicing her teleportation when suddenly she fell down." Addie half lied.

"I see," Kayla sighed, "She probably hasn't eaten either. I warned her about practicing on an empty stomach."

"So wut do we do?" Daniel asked in a concerned voice.

The woman kneeled down and scooped the little girl in her arms, "Don't worry, I'll take her to the headmaster; she has some medical training."

Kayla headed downstairs with kids, and pup, in tow.

* * *

"Alright Hinata, what do you say we go tell Inari the good news!" Naruto said in a cheery voice.

The heiress smiled and nodded in agreement.

Shortly after, the two arrived at the orphanage and found the place strangely quiet.

They entered the orphanage and heard some chatter coming from the dining room.

In the room, they were surprised to find a brown haired child stuffing her face in contentment.

"Wow Inari, you sure know how to eat." Naruto said in awe.

The four year old briefly ceased her eating so she could give the boy a smile.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the small girl smiling before him, her cheeks full of food. It was like getting as smile from a squirrel whose cheeks were full of nuts.

While the two teens waited patiently for Inari to finish eating, they chatted with Addie and Daniel. Naruto informed them of Hinata's match against her cousin, while the heiress fought back a blush.

Afterwards, Addie and Daniel decided to tell them about their day's activities. Of course, they made sure no one was within hearing distance before speaking a single word. However, they made sure to leave out the fact that did it all without permission.

"Sounds like you all had fun, and that's great but…" Naruto turned to Hinata, unsure of how to word it.

Hinata looked directly at Inari and said, "But it's still too soon for you to attempt to teleport things other than yourself. You're still not physically or mentally capable of handling tasks like teleporting two extra people. I know you were able to do it today, but it puts too much of a strain on your body," her voice was firm yet caring.

By now, the little girl had finished her meal and nodded meekly, "I'm sorry."

"We're sorry too." Addie and Daniel said in unison.

"It's okay. You're kids, it's normal for you to want to explore the village." Naruto reassured them. "Just try not to do anything that puts you in danger."

"And if you ever want to go out again, please tell us. We'll ask the headmaster to give us permission to take you out." Hinata said with a smile.

The three kids lit up with joy.

"For now, how about we have a little training fun." Naruto said with a grin.

Inari looked up with a confused expression, as did the other two kids and the teen Hyuuga.

"Well, I thought we could play and train at the same time." Naruto tried to explain, but he could see they were still confused.

"How?" Daniel asked.

"Um," Naruto thought for a moment, "We could play hide and seek against Inari. She hides and every time we get close to finding her, she has to teleport to a different spot. It will help develop her teleporting speed and help her think on her feet. Miyuki can help her as well."

Inari was starting to like that idea. She hadn't been able to train Miyuki much and this would give her the perfect chance. "Alright, Miyuki can try to sniff you guys out and warn me when you're close. What do you think Miyuki?"

The black-haired pup wagged her tail and barked in agreement.

"Right, we could even switch it up a bit." Naruto explained, "We all take turns hiding and being found. It'll be training for everyone."

"Yeah!" the kids shouted in glee.

"Can we invite the rest of the kids in our group?" Addie asked with hopeful eyes.

"Sure." Naruto assured her, "the more kids we get the better."

And so, the three children ran in all directions to gather up their companions. Leaving the two teens to themselves.

"I don't have any missions this week so maybe we could do this every day?" Naruto asked his shy friend.

Hinata remained quite, nervously playing with her fingers.

Naruto voiced his concern, "is something wrong Hinata?"

"N-not really," the heiress turned to look at her crush, "it's just that I have a mission tomorrow. We were suppose to leave today, but I had my match." she looked away with sad eyes, "I'll be gone for a whole week so I won't be able to join in the games."

"Oh," Naruto tried to hide his disappointment.

"S-sorry."

"It's okay Hinata, it happens," the blond gave her a small smile; "You can join us when you get back. Just watch out, cause we're sure to be really good by then." he chuckled, "You can even invite your teammates. Then we'll see just how good of a tracking team you guys really are."

Hinata stifled a giggle, "That sounds like a great idea Naruto."

"Alright, are you guys ready to play?" Inari shouted as she made her way back to the two teens. "Everyone's already hiding in the background. Try to find us," she said with a grin, vanishing in a flash of green.

Hinata and Naruto exchanged amused expressions, "You ready?"

"Yes."

"Alright you little twerps, get ready to be found!" the blond exclaimed, running out the back door, Hinata following close behind him.

* * *

Alright, another chapter done!

Thanks to someone who came to my DeviantArt page and asked about my story.

Sorry it took so long, I get serious writer's block *sweat drop*

Just give me some time, I'll think of something for the next chapter.

Hum, I wonder how many people are still reading this.

Comment if you have the time!

Hope there's no mistakes, too tired to re-read it a final time.


	26. How Time Flies

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Inari, Miyuki, etc. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **This takes place before the time skip. Naruto is 14 though so that means I've made many changes to the original story line.

Any changes I made will be revealed in their time. If anyone is confused about something, please ask and I will clarify.

* * *

Let's skip the explanations and get to the story.

Expectations best kept low.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

_How Time Flies_

Inari awoke to the sound of birds as they signaled the beginning of a new day. The young four year old smiled as her eyes adjusted to the morning light. Usually her mornings were a bit more noisy and not as pleasant. But she knew it would only be a few more days until the peacefully quiet mornings returned to their normal days of utter chaos.

It had been exactly two months since the orphanage was suddenly infected by an unknown substance. Where it came from nobody knew and by the time it was discovered it had infected half the staff and a third of the children. The substance only caused flu like symptoms at the beginning so no one thought it was anything serious. It wasn't until the children started convulsing and coughing up blood that the caretakers started to worry.

A few medical staff from the hospital came over and checked the place from head to two. After running a few tests it was decided to lock the whole building down so it could be quarantined. No sense risking the whole village as well as the Hokage's health.

With the help of Tsunade and her apprentices the unknown substance was contained and a cure was made. A vaccine was also made to ensure that no one could accidentally carry the infection outside of the village and spread it to neighboring towns.

Inari had been one of the last to get infected and thankfully the medicine was able to cure her before it progressed too much. Much to her relief the substance didn't seem to affect animals as her pup Miyuki remained as healthy as ever throughout the passing weeks.

This whole incident however, did cause a few problems for the orphanage. For one thing there was a shortage of staff and for another their budget had to be stretched to provide for all that were infected. Not to mention that now people who wanted to adopt were hesitant to approach the orphanage for fear of being contaminated.

The headmaster did what she could to provide for everyone and even used money from her own pocket to help cover any costs. Sooner of later the couples would return to adopt the children, of that she was sure. For now her only concern was to make sure everyone was recovering from the whole ordeal.

Inari stretched and jumped out of bed as she hurried to wake her roommate.

Downstairs the children sat quietly in their chairs as they chewed on their breakfast. Most had yet to recover their full strength and simply wanted to head back into their warm beds.

The four year old was not one of them.

It had been a whole month since the quarantine and she ached to step outside and breath some fresh air.

She also missed Naruto and Hinata and couldn't wait to see them, but knew that the orphanage would not be allowing visitors until the end of the week.

So for now she decided to catch up on her training as well as teach Miyuki some of the moves written on the scroll Kiba had given her. Since the kidnapping her skills hadn't been the same and now that she had been infected she feared it would only set her back that much more.

Inari quickly confirmed her suspicions when she tried to teleport two feet away from where she stood. It seemed her body had become unbalanced once again and her chakra didn't seem to flow properly anymore. With a sigh she began the training exercises that Hinata had shown her in the beginning. _'Guess it's back to the beginning, or more like before the beginning.'_

* * *

Time seemed to just zoom by for the blond as he made his was to the training grounds. With Inari sick most of his time was spent training for the Chunnin exams. Naruto still didn't know when or where the exams would take place, all he knew was that he had to be ready.

During the last two months the teen had been getting help from anyone willing to train him. To his disappointment he didn't learn that many new jutsus; most of his training involved improving what he already knew.

He couldn't complain though, he had gotten stronger, faster and smarter than he would have if he had trained by himself.

Not to mention he also was able to strengthen the bonds he had with his friends. The last couple of weeks had been good for all of them. It had been nice to take the time to enjoy themselves. Each team still went out for missions but every now and then they were able to hang out and relax.

Even the serious Neji had to admit that getting together every so often wasn't such a bad idea.

Naruto grinned as he recalled a match between the two where Neji had agreed to treat Naruto to ramen if the blond was able to defeat him. As soon as the match began Naruto created a hundred clones and bombarded the Hyuuga teen before he could even get into a fighting stance.

However, Neji wasn't called a genius for nothing and in the end he was able to show Naruto just how far he'd come since their fight in the last Chunnin exams.

With a smirk Neji told him, _'better luck next time' _to which Naruto replied, _'how about we try it again tomorrow?' _the two quickly became friends much to everyone's surprise. Neji argued that he was merely trying to get along with the blond per her cousin's request.

However his teammates guessed it had to do with the fact that he was being overprotective of Hinata and wanted to keep a close eye on the boy of her affections.

Naruto of course simply thought that Neji had turned a new leaf and was trying to get along with everyone now.

As the blond reached the training grounds he came across three of his friends.

"Yo Naruto, you up for a rematch? I'll even give you a handicap this time," Kiba grinned as Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I beat you last time and you know it." Naruto smirked, "Or are you still going to blame the sun for getting in your eyes?"

The two teens went at it for a few minutes before Shino and Hinata decided to break up the fight. After one final jab from Kiba the four teens decided to pair up and have a two versus two match.

"Sucks for you Hinata, looks like you get stuck with a deadweight." Kiba laughed as he and Shino reached the other side of the training area.

"U-um, N-naruto's not a-" Hinata began but was cut off by the blond next to her.

"Laugh it up dog boy, cause me and Hinata are going to beat you guys so bad you won't even know what hit ya!" Naruto declared with a big grin.

* * *

"Here are the reports you asked for Lady Tsunade."

"Thank you," the blonde woman replied as the man walked out of the office. No sooner had he left did Shizune burst through the doors.

"Lady Tsunade, it's a message from Jiraya!"

This caught the Hokage's immediate attention, as soon as Shizune was close enough Tsunade grabbed the message and read it.

As soon as she finished she placed the message down and turned to her assistant. "He's on his way, it seems he's found something."

"What does this mean Lady Tsunade?"

The blonde woman sighed, "It means things are about to change, and something tells me it's not for the better."

"I see," Shizune looked down, exchanging a worried look with the pink pig next to her.

"He'll be here in five days. Until then, let's see if we can't deal with some of these other issues, like where the next Chunnin Exams are being held."

"Right," Shizune nodded, heading back to her desk to retrieve the new stack of papers Tsunade had to look over and sign.

Tsunade's eye widened as the stack was placed in her already paper filled desk. "Is it too late to take it all back and head out for some sake?"

* * *

"See Hinata, I told you we could do it!" Naruto said triumphantly as he and the heiress headed to the Hyuuga compound. After they had won their match with Shino and Kiba the blond had led Hinata to Ichiraku's for some celebratory ramen.

Kiba had credited their victory to Hinata's skill and pointed out that Naruto barely did anything at all. While they all knew it was not true no one actually said it out loud. The teens knew by now that this was just how Kiba and Naruto talked with one another.

Naruto did agree however that Hinata had contributed a lot to their win. The three males soon found themselves complimenting the shy heiress on her improvements since the last time they had sparred.

Hinata tried her best not to pass out form all the compliments as she thanked them for their kind words. She didn't really think she had improved that much but did admit she was starting to get better.

Of course it was mostly thanks to her father who had been training her more and more. His lessons were hard but they weren't as painful as when she was younger. His harsh tone and disappointing eyes were nowhere to be seen this time around. Instead he was more encouraging and gentler when correcting her mistakes. This also explained why she was feeling more confident in herself than two months ago. Though Hinata also credited Naruto for this. Since they started hanging out more often he had inadvertently helped her believe in herself more and see the worth she had deep inside.

"Y-yes," the heiress smiled, "Y-you were very amazing Naruto."

The blond grinned sheepishly, reaching up to scratch his hair with his right hand. "Yeah, Neji and his team been helping me out for the past week. I've gotten much faster thanks to them."

"Which isn't saying much since hie was pretty slow to begin with." a voiced called out from in front of them.

"Neji, as kind as ever I see." Naruto glared as he and Hinata reached the entrance to the Hyuuga compound.

The stoic Hyuuga decided not to respond and instead addressed his cousin, "Hinata, your father wishes to speak to you. It seems you and Hanabi will be sparring this week."

"I-I see," Hinata gulped, matched with her sisters were always the most nerve wreaking. As much as she wanted to be acknowledged by her father and the clan she just could not bring herself to hurt her baby sister. Before heading inside with Neji she turned to say goodbye to her crush, "Thanks for walking me home Naruto. M-maybe we can meet up later this week."

"Sure Hinata. We can hang out after your match with Hanabi. That way I can hear how it all went." Naruto said with a grin.

"U-um," Hinata nervously looked to the ground, trying to find the words to say.

Naruto's face suddenly turned serious as he placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Hey remember, it won't do you or Hanabi any good if you pull your punches. Just do your best okay?"

Hinata nodded meekly, she knew he was right but was still a bit hesitant to strike her sister full force.

"Okay then, I'll come by after your match. I better not hear you went easy on her or I'll team up with Kiba next time we spar." Naruto said in a menacing voice.

At this the heiress couldn't help bit giggle, she knew how much both Naruto and Kiba disliked teaming up. Both were much more content with beating the other to a pulp rather than working to together on anything. "A-alright, I promise I'll try harder this time." she managed to stutter out with as much confidence as she could muster.

"You better," Naruto said in a playful tone.

With that the two Hyuugas entered their home and the blond made his way back to his apartment.

* * *

The next few days passed without much change. Every genin that was going to take the Chuunin Exams was training their butts off every day. Some had heard how brutal the exam was and couldn't risk entering it unprepared. Those that had already taken it trained even harder, they were determined to pass it this time.

As promised Naruto visited Hinata after her match to hear how it went. Imagine his surprise when the heiress walked out of the compound with her sister in toe. Turns out the two had had a very interesting match and had both worked themselves up quite an appetite.

After overhearing her older sister's plan to hang out with her crush, Hanabi had decided to tag along and hopefully grab a bite to eat as well.

Naruto of course was more than happy to introduce a new client to his favorite restaurant.

Hanabi was reluctant to try the ramen, much like Inari when she had first been given a bowl. But after a few bites she commented that it was _'Not as bad as she had thought'_ and that _'She could see herself eating it every now and then.'_

Naruto cheered as yet another fan was added to his list.

* * *

There was a knock at the door as the blond woman stirred from her sleep.

"You better not be bringing me more papers to sign Shizune. I told you the next time you opened that door you had better have some sake in your hand." Tsunade mumbled from her desk, her head turned to the side as she brought her arms around her face in an attempt to get back to sleep.

"Well I'm not Shizune, but I think might have some sake with me," a male voice said with a grin as he opened the door to the Hokage's office.

Tsunade barely lifted her head as she gazed at the man in front of her, "You're early, I can only assume you brought some good news." She of course knew his answer before he even said it.

"We have a problem Tsunade."

* * *

To those still reading I apologize for making you wait almost a year.

I just sort of gave up on the story and couldn't bring myself to write anymore.

During these months I've been reading a lot of stories and a lot have been left incomplete.

Some have been like that for years.

Which sucks cause I really liked some of those stories.

Turns out it was the wake up call I needed cause I sat down yesterday and wrote this chapter.

It's short and I didn't have time to go over it but I wanted to post something to let you know I'm still here.

I know my chapters have gotten really boring so I'm trying to speed up and get to the point of this story.

I really want to get started on book 2. Maybe then I'll have more ideas for chapters.

You guys deserve a good story, so I hope I can improve and give you guys what you deserve.

Comments are appreciated but not mandatory.


	27. Fast Traveling News

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Inari, Miyuki, etc. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.

**Note: **This takes place before the time skip. Naruto is 14 though so that means I've made many changes to the original story line.

Any changes I made will be revealed in their time. If anyone is confused about something, please ask and I will clarify.

* * *

Whoops, I planned to work on this chapter and submit it a week after the last chapter.

Yeah, I get easily distracted…

* * *

**Chapter 27**

_Fast Traveling News_

The blonde Hokage leaned back in her chair as the white haired man took a seat across from her.

"Alright Jiraiya, what did you find out?"

"Well not much. Unfortunately not many of my informants know about this group of men." the white haired sannin sighed.

"Group?" Tsunade asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes, according to my sources we're dealing with a large group of men who are led by some, unknown powerful man."

"Do you think it could be Orochimaru?" Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she spoke her old teammate's name.

"No," Jiraiya replied with an icy tone, "Orochimaru wouldn't be so obvious. Plus, if he wanted to find someone he'd find them." The man took a moment to shake off the anger he had built up.

"From what I've heard, these men appear to be flunkies, your common low level grunt used for menial tasks. I actually ran into a one of them on my way back."

This caught Tsunade's interest, which Jiraiya could tell, so he spoke up before she could even open her mouth to ask.

"He tried to be subtle about it but he didn't fool me. The man walked around, posing as a distressed father, asking if anyone had seen his young daughter. To the untrained eye, you would actually believe him, but there were certain things that gave him away. For one, he described the child as a small brown haired girl, younger than seven who was walking around alone. When I asked him what her name was he merely asked if I had seen someone with that description or not. You'd think a father would answer such a simple question. I didn't give it much thought then but I did look around and noticed a few men who seemed to be asking similar questions."

"Still, what makes you so sure these are the same men who are looking for Inari?" Tsunade asked.

"I know, that in itself isn't enough to prove anything, but the very next day I saw a young couple asking around for their daughter. Immediately I could tell they were real parents. They showed me a picture and answered every question I asked. So I decided to investigate and found something I didn't expect."

"What?" the blonde Hokage asked after her old teammate paused for longer than she thought necessary.

"I found a cave," he replied in a solemn tone, "inside the cave there was a large cage, filled with little girls." Tsunade's eyes widened in horror. "The cage had a seal that would activate if any chakra was released by the prisoners. From what I could tell the seal was designed to knock out anyone who tried to access their chakra."

"B-but, they're children," Tsunade choked out, "What sort of threat could they possibly pose? Plus, I doubt any of them could even perform a single jutsu."

"That's true, but remember: they're trying to find Inari. They must know she's capable of escaping and knocking her out sounds like the only way to determine which child holds what they're looking for." Jiraiya reasoned.

"So, what happened to the girls?" Tsunade asked anxiously.

"Well of course I broke the seal and rescue them," the sannin grinned, "After all I am-"

"Yeah, I know," the blonde woman waved her hand dismissively, she knew all to well where this was going and wasn't about to hear it all over again.

"You're no fun Tsunade," Jiraiya grumbled.

Tsunade stood up, slamming her hands on the desk, "This is no time for games Jiraiya! We have an orphaned little girl and a group of unknown men chasing her. Now are you going to tell me everything you know of am I going to have to send you back out again?"

With a sigh the man pulled out a small scroll and spoke up once more, making sure not to leave out a single detail.

Afterwards Tsunade dismissed him and ordered Shizune in.

"You called for me Lady Tsunade?" her dark haired assistant asked, poking her head from the other side of the door.

"Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day; I need some time to think." The hokage had such a dreadful look on her face that Shizune didn't even bother protesting. She simply agreed and went back out the door.

'_Is Jiraiya right? Is this the only way? _She thought to herself, _'No, there must be something else I can do. I have to come up with something…"_

* * *

"Hey Sakura! Do you have a minute?" Ino yelled from across the street.

The pink haired kunoichi turned around in surprise, "Ino? I thought you were out on a mission with your team?"

"I was," the blonde responded, walking up to her friend's side. "We just came back."

Sakura could hear the seriousness in her childhood friend's tone, something was wrong. "Ino wha-"

"We can't talk here," Ino cut in, glancing to her side, "Let's go to _that _training area."

The pink haired teen felt like her heart suddenly stopped, there was only one reason they ever went **there**.

With a nod Sakura let Ino lead the way. The two teenage girls walked in silence until they reached their destination.

"S-so w-what's this all about Ino," Sakura tried to remain calm but her nerves were getting the best of her.

This was the place. This was where she had run into Ino after _that _mission. Where Sakura had broken down and confessed the truth to her childhood friend and rival. In this training area, the two mended their broken friendship and consoled their wounded hearts.

This place held a lot for them. A pact, a promise, and a secret they could never tell the others. Naruto was the only other person that knew.

Not of the place, but of the secret. Sakura had told him after telling Ino.

In truth, he had told her not to tell anyone, except their blond teammate. But the impact of it all had been too much for her to handle alone. As soon as she came across the Yamanaka teen all thoughts of secrecy flew out the window. Sakura could trust her right? They were childhood friends. And at the moment, she needed to female to spill her guts to. In the end, Sakura believed she made the right choice. Ino was a gossip, but she knew when to keep her mouth shut.

"I saw him Sakura, I'm sure of it. I saw Sasuke."

* * *

The teens were making their way to Tsunade's office when they saw a group of men pass them in the hall.

"Wow, that's the fifth team we've seen run out today. Looks like there's a lot of missions to do." Kiba said with a huge grin, "Still think you're going to win the bet Naruto?"

"Of course dog boy," Naruto answered confidently, "You just be ready with your money."

The blond had run into team 8 as he was on his way to the Hokage tower. It had been a while since his last mission and he was starting to feel restless. Team 8 were also hoping to get a mission, that's when the idea to make a bet came.

Kiba bet Naruto a meal at Ichiraku's for whoever got a mission outside of the village. Naruto was confident that he would win since team 8 already had a mission the other day. The blond was positive it was his turn to go out. There was no way granny Tsunade would give them a mission instead of him. Right?

"Face it Naruto we-" Kiba turned and notice the blond teen was no longer paying attention. At first the Inuzuka was going to yell out an insult, but his teammate's stifled giggle quickly brushed that thought away.

"So then I jumped out of the tree and knocked the guy out in one punch. I'm telling you Hinata, it was pure luck. Of course Sakura wasn't very happy about it. Kept saying she'd never get the gross image of the guy's butt out of her head and asking why it had to be her." Naruto explained his last mission enthusiastically as the shy heiress hung on his every word.

The rest of team 8 walked in front of the pair, listening with smiles on their faces. It was hard to believe that in the last few months the two had gotten so close. Before Inari came the two had barely even talked. Then again, Naruto had kept himself at arms length since the last mission with every member of team 7. But even before that, Hinata and Naruto never really exchanged words. Now though, things were different.

As much as Kiba hated to admit it, it was almost like he was part of their team.

In the last five months they had seen him almost as much as they had seen each other. Although that was mostly because of Inari. The two would often meet up after training to visit her.

However, since Inari had been in quarantine, the two had met up often to train. Usually Naruto would approach them, but every now and then Hinata would work up the courage and invite him to train.

Both Shino and Kiba could tell the shy girl had grown more confident and was less hesitant to speak her mind. It had actually surprised them both at first, but they were nonetheless happy for the change. It made missions more successful, which in turn further boosted Hinata's confidence.

Kiba was confident they would do much better at the Chuunin exams this time around.

"I-I feel back for Sakura though." Hinata said after she stopped laughing. To think the pink haired girl had thrown a kunai at the man only to have it rip said man's pants in half. The view she received afterwards surely wasn't pleasant.

"Don't worry," Naruto said with a chuckle, "She's over it now. Since she's been working at the hospital she says she's seen far worse than that. Though if you mention the mission to her you can see her eye twitch for a second," the boy laughed.

Kiba laughed as well, the story had been too funny not to. Plus, he could have sworn he saw Shino smirk as he listened along with them.

"Hello everyone, here for a mission?" Shizune said, spotting them after she turned the corner.

"Yup, it's been over a week since my last mission. I'm bored out of my mind," the blond clutched his head in exaggeration.

The black haired assistant laughed in response, "I see. Well, we can't have that can we? I think we have a few missions available, but you'll have to wait until Lady Tsunade is done in her office." Shizune added the last part with a serious tone.

"Does this have anything to do with all the teams that have been running out of here?" Kiba asked.

"Yes. Lady Tsunade had to send teams to deal with a new problem north of the village."

"Problem?" Shino asked with growing interest. He had noticed that some of the men that left earlier were from his clan.

Shizune paused, and glanced over at Hinata and Naruto. "M-maybe you should ask Tsunade directly. She'll be done in a few minutes."

The four teens nodded and decided to wait. Kiba and Akamaru decided to take a quick nap while Shino talked to his bugs.

Naruto and Hinata continued to chat, this time they decided to ask questions about themselves. Usually they talked about mission or training but lately they had realized they had a few things in common.

Plus Hinata always wanted to know more about her crush.

Naruto on the other hand never really had the chance to talk like this with another person. Sakura never took much interest in him and Sasuke wasn't the sharing type. His personal life was none of your business as far as he was concerned.

But with Hinata things were different. She always seemed interested in what he had to say and didn't seem to find him annoying. It was nice.

Plus he was learning a lot about Hinata. Her likes, dislikes, what she did in her spare time and even some personal things about her family. This made Naruto feel warm inside, that Hinata was willing to share so much with him and trust him not to divulge her secrets. He in turn, trusted Hinata completely with his.

It felt nice, to have such a close friendship with someone. He was even starting to think he could tell Hinata anything and she wouldn't judge him.

Though, he wasn't ready to tell her **everything** just yet.

"Wow Hinata, so you can cook all that?" Naruto said in a surprised tone. Between training and missions where did she find the time to learn how to cook?

"Y-yes, I've been learning to cook over the years. T-the members of the clan who are in change of cooking have been teaching me. A-at first my father was against it, but then he agreed that it would be a useful skill to know. I've even started teaching Hanabi what I know." Hinata finished with a blush as she looked towards the ground. She just couldn't look into those beautiful blue eyes any longer. They were so intense Hinata always felt she would pass out if she stared at them for too long.

Before the blond could continue praising the girl, the door to Tsunade's office opened.

"Ok, you can all come in now," Shizune announce, leading them inside.

Tsunade was leaning in her chair when they came in. She promptly leaned forward, her elbows on the desk and her hands brought up to her chin. "Naruto, Hinata, I was planning on calling you over later today but it seems you have saved me the trouble." the blonde hokage turned to her assistant, "Is she here yet?"

Before Shizune could respond there was a knock on the door.

"It must be them, let them in Shizune."

"Of course Lady Tsunade."

The four teens turned to the new guests, surprised by who they saw.

With a bark and a wiggling tail the pup ran over to the older pup in front of her.

Akamaru barked in response and chased Miyuki across the office.

"Miyuki," a voice called out as she made her way inside, Shizune and another woman walked behind her, "I told you not to run ahead of me."

"Inari!" both Naruto and Hinata said at the same time.

The brown haired girl looked up and practically launched herself between the two teens.

"I missed you both so much," the four year old said, struggling not to cry.

Their reunion was cut short as Tsunade cleared her throat. "As sweet as this is, I need to tell you all something very important."

With this everyone in the room was silent. Even the two pups sat down and listened.

"Good," the blonde woman began, "Now originally I was only going to tell you three," she said pointing to Naruto, Hinata and Inari, "But I see no harm in letting Hinata's teammates in on this as well."

Tsunade paused before she spoke again, "A few months ago I sent Jiraiya out to gather some information on the men who are after Inari. He came back yesterday with some information." She noticed the concerned looks. "At the moment there are men scattered around the villages north of here looking for her. According to Jiraiya, they're using a vague description of her. So it's safe to assume they won't be finding her so easily even if they were to enter the village." Tsunade looked at Inari, who seemed to sigh in relief.

"Unfortunately, since they don't have a clear description, they've captured various little girls to see if they can get lucky. Jiraiya managed to find some sealed in a cave on his way back to Konoha. The men are using the seals to determine if any of the girls is Inari. That is why I have decided to send out some scouting and tracking teams to see if we can put a stop to their schemes."

"Send us too," Kiba said in an angry tone, "After all, scouting and tracking is what Team 8 does."

"Kiba makes a valid point," Shino added in, "Our skills would be put to good use in this mission."

Before Hinata could agree Tsunade spoke. "That is very well true, but I have decided to send high ranking teams only. We have to be very careful in how we do this; otherwise the leader will know we're on to them. Flunkies are easier to follow, giving us a better chance to find their base and leader. We can't afford to mess up and get discovered."

The Inuzuka male was upset that he couldn't help, but had to swallow his pride and agree with the Hokage. They were, after all, only genin,

"So how long will it take them to find the bad guys and stop them?" Inari asked in a concerned voice.

The blonde hokage could see the worry on the child's face and tried her best to reassure her, "Each team has been instructed to report to me as soon as they find something. Jiraiya was also sent back to see if he could dig up anything new. The first team has been sent to scout out the town closest to konoha. So it won't be long until we hear from them."

"Isn't this great Inari? Everyone is working hard to ensure your safety. This is what the people of Konoha do; we look out for one another." Ms. Bell finally spoke up, a warm smile on her face.

The little brown haired girl looked up at the caretaker that had been asked to bring her to the hokage's office. Ms. Bell's words reminded her of a distant memory.

'_Mommy, why did that lady help pay for our food?'_

'_Because she saw that I didn't have enough money,' she replied with a laugh, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

'_But why? Does she expect you to pay her back?'_

_The woman beside her laughed once more, 'Well I do plan to pay her back, but I'm sure she would have given me the money even if I didn't intend to pay her back.'_

'_Why would she do that?' the child asked, more confused than ever._

'_Because that's what it means to be a part of this village. We all look out for one another.' She said with a smile, 'It's like we're one big family.'_

"We're like one big family…" Inari whispered the familiar words of her mother.

"Yes, at least that's the way I see it," Ms. Bell said with a smile.

The brown haired child couldn't help the warm feeling in her stomach.

_A family_

Her father had once told her that family could be found anywhere. So could it be that this village was her new family? Was it really that easy?

Inari looked around the room; everyone seemed to be looking at her, as if they agreed with the caretaker's words. The four year old let out an embarrassed grin, which Hinata thought looked very familiar. "Yeah, we all look out for one another. That's what families do."

* * *

The pink haired teen stood there frozen. Her friend's words repeating in her head.

'_I saw him Sakura, I'm sure of it. I saw Sasuke.'_

'_I saw Sasuke.'_

'_Sasuke' 'Sasuke' 'Sasuke'_

"Sakura!" Ino shouted.

"Wha? Huh?" Sakura gasped, breaking free from her thoughts. "Ino, did you just-"

"Yes, I said I saw Sasuke." Ino said with a nod. "Shikamaru and Choji didn't see him but I did. And I don't care what anyone says, he was there!" she claimed in a tone that left no room for argument.

"My teammates and even Asuma sensei tried to convince me I was wrong. That I was just seeing things, but I wasn't," Ino's voice was starting to break, "I didn't see things Sakura, I didn't. He was there, he really was."

Sakura could see the tears that were forming on the blonde's eyes. "I-I believe you Ino." she said, embracing her childhood friend. "Please, tell me everything."

"W-well," Ino said, pulling away from her friend, "we had just finished our mission, and Asuma sensei was checking us out of the small Inn where we stayed. Shikamaru was across the street with Choji, who was buying some snacks. I had just walked out of the Inn when I spotted him a few shops away. He was talking to some man who pointed behind him and then handed him a piece of paper. Sasuke took it and walked off. I tried to follow him but Shikamaru grabbed me and told me we were leaving. That's when I told them what I saw, but they didn't believe me."

"Ino," Sakura began, "How far away was he?"

The Yamanaka teen knew where this was going, "I had a clear view of his face Sakura, I'm **positive** it was Sasuke." Ino glared at her friend, "You said you believed me."

Sakura looked away, "I-I do Ino."

"Doesn't sound like it to me," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you believe me."

Both kunoichi walked up to each other and locked eyes. Ino looked like she was trying to tell Sakura everything with just a gaze.

"I believe you Ino. I really do." Sakura said with determined eyes. She wouldn't doubt her friend, not when it came to Sasuke. He was important to both of them, and just as she knew she'd never mistake him for another, she believed Ino wouldn't either. "We have to tell Naruto about this."

"No way," Ino shook her head, "Knowing him he'd rush to that village and look under every rock for him. By now I'm sure Sasuke's long gone. Telling Naruto would only upset him."

The pink haired medic nin was about to agree until she remembered something.

"You're wrong Ino." Sakura said, casting her eyes down, "Last time I kept the truth from Naruto, he didn't talk to me for a month. If… If I keep this from him, I'm not sure he'll ever forgive me."

Ino looked down as well; she remembered those weeks where Sakura was a complete wreck. Naruto had felt very hurt when he found out Sakura had lied to him about Sasuke. Of course, Naruto eventfully forgave her. Despite being an annoying idiot, the boy had a very forgiving heart. In time the two were able to laugh again and their bond grew stronger.

Though the event was not without its cost. But of course, only one of them knew that.

"You've got a point there forehead," Ino smiled at the nickname, "I'll leave it up you to tell him."

Sakura let the name slide this time as she smirked, "Thanks Ino."

* * *

"And so begins the wait-and-see game." Kiba announced after leaving the Hokage's office.

"I don't think this situation should be taken so lightly Kiba." Shino pointed out.

"Well it won't do us any good to worry about it," the Inuzuka boy explained.

"Kiba's right," Inari said, coming from behind them. She was in between Naruto and Hinata, holding each of their hands. "I'm going to believe in this village and its people. I'm sure with all those teams out searching, they'll come back with good news."

"Yeah, you don't have anything to worry about Inari," Naruto said with a grin, "We've got the best ninja around."

"That's true Inari," Ms. Bell said from Hinata's right, "Even one of the legendary Sannin was sent to investigate."

"Legendary Sannin?" Inari tilted her head in confusion.

Ms. Bell explained the best way she could as they exited the tower.

"Oh wow," Inari said with wide eyes. "He sounds really cool."

"Well he does know a lot of cool jutsu, but he's also a super pervert." Naruto pointed out.

"Huh? What's a per-."

"Inari, I believe it's time for us to head back to the orphanage," Ms. Bell said with a smile, casting Naruto a stern look as she led the four year old away.

"Idiot," Kiba chuckled as he noticed the confused look on the blonds' face.

Reluctantly, the small child said goodbye to the teens and called out to her puppy.

"Come visit soon okay you guys!" she shouted as she left.

"You bet," Naruto answered with a grin.

The four teens made their way to grab something to eat when one of them suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a minute, we forgot about our bet!"

* * *

And just like that another chapter is done.

I think I'm starting to get into this again.

Maybe it's cause this time around I'm actually putting a lot of thought into what I want to write.

Also trying to set things up for the next two books.

I pretty much know how I want to end this book, but I tend to change my mind a lot so who knows.

I can say that there's probably less than five chapters left. Afterwards I'll get started on book 2.

Looks like I have a lot of brainstorming to do *sigh*

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll answer as best I can.

Thanks again for reading, see you next chapter!


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